A Democrat scheme to sabotage incumbent Alaska GOP Senator Dan Sullivan has failed.
A Democrat operative worked to register a man named Daniel J. Sullivan as Dan S. Sullivan (the incumbent Senator’s name) as a Republican primary challenger.
The decoy saboteur, Daniel J. Sullivan, is a Democrat and has a team of Democrats working for him, but they registered him as a Republican to cause chaos and confusion during Alaska’s August primary.
On Monday, Alaska’s top elections officials said the ‘random’ Dan Sullivan is not eligible to be on the primary ballot this summer.
Senator Sullivan said of the Democrat decoy that he was “obviously in it to rig it.”
Sen. SULLIVAN responds: “This guy was obviously in it to rig it, not in it to win it… I’m going to continue to do what I do which is deliver for my state.”
Adds that if the other Dan Sullivan sues to get on ballot, “we’re going to flood them with discovery requests” – possibly… https://t.co/LNHkSN0i4d
— Laura Weiss (@LauraEWeiss16) June 15, 2026
Politico reported:
GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan won’t face a same-name challenger after all.
Alaska’s top elections official said Monday that Dan J. Sullivan was ineligible to appear on the August primary ballot for the state’s critical Senate race after determining his candidacy was “not filed in good faith” but instead “with the purpose of confusing or misleading the electorate.”
Director of Elections Carol Beecher’s decision is a massive relief for the national GOP apparatus, which had accused Dan J. Sullivan of attempting to deceive voters by appearing on the ballot with the same name and party affiliation as the incumbent — and of working with an operative who previously backed former Rep. Mary Peltola to try to rig the Senate race in the Democrat’s favor. Peltola’s campaign had previously denied any involvement with either Sullivans’ bids and did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Dan S. Sullivan, the incumbent senator, immediately took a victory lap on Monday.
“Every Alaskan has the right to a free and fair election, free from deception and gamesmanship. We thank Lieutenant Governor [Nancy] Dahlstrom for upholding that right and for ensuring Alaskans can choose their next senator without a sham candidate whose primary purpose was to confuse Alaskan voters, treat Alaskans with contempt, and rig the election for Peltola,” Billy Mackey, Sullivan’s campaign manager, said in a statement.
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