On the eve of Election Day, concerns about potential voter confusion in Alaska's closely watched Senate race materialized as a voter indicated he might have inadvertently selected the wrong candidate due to the presence of two individuals named Dan Sullivan on the ballot. Republicans had spent the summer warning that this unique situation could affect the outcome of a critical contest that may determine control of the U.S. Senate.
"I don’t remember seeing the second Dan Sullivan, I totally forgot to look for two Dan Sullivans." Alaska Voter
The voter appeared in an interview posted on November 2 by Not the Bee, where he was asked about the Senate race. He expressed uncertainty, stating, “I don’t remember seeing the second Dan Sullivan, I totally forgot to look for two Dan Sullivans.” After the interviewer clarified that both Dan Sullivans were indeed together on the ballot, the voter concluded with his intention: “I definitely intended to vote for the real Dan Sullivan.” The specific candidate he ultimately selected was not revealed in the posted excerpt.
The unusual ballot situation began in late May with the announcement of Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg, Southeast Alaska, as a candidate. Notably, he registered as a Republican, the same party as the sitting Senator Dan S. Sullivan, who has held the seat since 2015. Within days of Dan J. Sullivan's announcement, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) formally contacted Alaska election officials, urging them to remove him from the ballot. The NRSC's letter referred to him as "Sham Candidate Sullivan."
Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher initially concluded that Dan J. Sullivan did not qualify for the ballot. However, Dan J. Sullivan challenged this finding, pursuing his case all the way to the Alaska Supreme Court. The state's highest court subsequently ordered election officials to include him on the primary ballot. As the legal dispute unfolded, Senator Sullivan reportedly used strong language, including the words “cheating” and “corruption,” according to Alaska Public Media.
Republicans articulated a two-pronged case against the challenger. They pointed to Federal Election Commission filings that showed a Daniel or Dan Sullivan in Petersburg had contributed $650 to ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s primary fundraising platform. Additionally, they claimed that the metadata of Dan J. Sullivan's campaign announcement document linked it to Amber Lee, a consultant known for publicly backing Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate in the Senate race. Both Dan J. Sullivan and the Alaska Democratic Party, as well as Peltola's campaign, have rejected these accusations, denying any involvement in or coordination with his candidacy. Alaska Public Media reported that Dan J. Sullivan's donors are predominantly from Petersburg, and he told the Petersburg Pilot in June that he supports candidates from both parties. Defending his right to run, he stated, “I have every right to stand up and do this. It’s my name, my grandfather’s name: Dan Sullivan. My dad’s name: Dan Sullivan.”
Voters narrowed the field in Alaska’s open primary on August 18. Alaska’s system places all candidates on a single ballot, with the top four finishers, regardless of party affiliation, advancing to the general election. Out of sixteen initial candidates, Mary Peltola, Senator Sullivan, Dan J. Sullivan, and Republican Gerald Heikes secured spots on the general-election ballot. To mitigate confusion, the general election ballot separates the two Sullivans with distinct notations. Roll Call reported that Senator Sullivan is listed as Dan S. Sullivan, identified as the Republican incumbent, while his challenger is listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. with no party affiliation noted. State law mandates that same-surname candidates be listed by first name and, if necessary, middle initial. The two men have no known familial relation. Alaska has encountered similar situations before; for instance, when Senator Sullivan first won his seat in 2014, then-Anchorage Mayor Dan A. Sullivan was also on that year’s primary ballot as a lieutenant governor candidate.
Mary Peltola brings her own significant political background to the contest. She previously held Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat from September 2022 to January 2025, becoming the first Alaska Native in Congress. She recently lost her 2024 re-election bid. By the end of July, Peltola had raised over $18 million for her Senate campaign, while Senator Sullivan had raised nearly $12 million.
The Alaska Senate race is one of just four nationwide rated as a toss-up, making its outcome potentially decisive for which party controls the U.S. Senate. A September AARP poll indicated Senator Sullivan trailing Peltola by 5 percentage points. Both The Washington Post and CNN’s Decision Desk have reported concerns that the presence of two Dan Sullivans could inadvertently benefit Peltola by drawing votes away from the incumbent. Alaskans will decide the four-way race using ranked-choice voting, with final results expected after polls close.
