Sen. Dan Sullivan’s (R-AK) challenger who has the same name as the incumbent has been deemed ineligible for the Senate primary race.
On Monday, Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher determined on Monday that Dan J. Sullivan’s declaration of candidacy “was not filed in order to declare an actual good-faith candidacy for the office of United States Senator, but was instead filed with a purpose to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot’s fairness or neutrality.”
Dan J. Sullivan, who was previously unknown, recently announced he was running to challenge the senator. His entry in the race quickly alarmed Republicans.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission about his primary campaign, and the Alaska Republican Party did the same with the state’s elections division. They alleged he worked with Democrats to run for office so he could draw votes away from the sitting senator to benefit former Rep. Mary Peltola.
Peltola is the top Democrat in the race against Sullivan. His namesake opponent ran as a Republican before he was disqualified.
“The preponderance of the evidence is that you chose this new nickname and party affiliation because that name and party affiliation happen to be the name and party affiliation of another candidate in the race,” Beecher wrote in a letter.
The elections official noted his campaign website used a similar “format, color scheme, and overall theme” as the senator’s campaign, which the official said appeared to be a “deliberate” attempt to confuse voters.
Beecher also cited Dan J. Sullivan’s ties to a political consultant who openly supports Democratic candidates, including Peltola.
“This consultant’s work on your behalf is, in isolation, innocuous,” Beecher said.
The letter also says Dan J. Sullivan “appeared to be confused” when he emailed the state’s elections office about putting his name on the ballot as “Dan S. Sullivan.” The senator’s middle initial is “S.”
In recent days, Dan J. Sullivan insisted he met every legal qualification to run for the Senate and said he was challenging the two-term senator because Alaskan residents “need a change.”
He did not immediately respond to the campaign-ending development.
NRSC REFERS CHALLENGER DAN SULLIVAN TO FEC OVER CAMPAIGN ‘SCHEME’ TO OUST SENATOR WITH SAME NAME
Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who oversees the Alaska Division of Elections, opened an investigation into the mysterious challenger last week.
Dan J. Sullivan has 30 days to appeal the ruling, leaving him little time to get his name on the ballot. Ballots are printed on June 28 ahead of the Aug. 18 nonpartisan primary.
