JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska’s chief election administrator has warned a Republican Senate candidate that he may be removed from the August primary ballot because he has the identical name and party as the current Republican senator Dan Sullivan.
Elections Division Director Carol Beecher sent a letter to the challenging candidate Dan Sullivan stating her department had received two complaints about his qualifications and concluded “that the preponderance of evidence does not support your eligibility for the office of United States Senator.”
Beecher set a Thursday deadline for him to provide “any additional information and evidence” to defend his candidacy.
The challenger Sullivan has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding Beecher’s correspondence, who is a registered Republican with a history of contributing to GOP organizations and campaigns. The Wednesday-dated letter, which was reported by the Anchorage Daily News, did not detail what evidence might justify removing him from the primary ballot, and her department has not answered media inquiries.
The challenger’s campaign has created controversy in one of the nation’s most watched U.S. Senate contests. Democrats view this seat as a key pickup opportunity as they work to reclaim control of the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections.
The incumbent senator has claimed his same-name opponent is collaborating with Democrats to confuse voters and help his main rival, former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, an allegation both have rejected. The challenger, a resident of the small fishing town of Petersburg south of Juneau, told The Associated Press this week that running was “my choice.” He stated he has had no communication with Peltola’s campaign — “zero, none, zilch.”
Earlier this week, the challenger also responded to Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom’s announcement that she was launching an inquiry into his campaign.
“The law forbids your office from denying me access to the ballot just because Senator Sullivan and the NRSC would prefer I not be allowed to run,” he stated, referencing the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
He described the inquiry as “an unprecedented affront to my rights as a candidate and the rights of Alaska voters to select their own representation in the U.S. Senate.”
It remains unclear whether he has hired legal counsel to fight for his ballot position.
Several lawyers have also questioned Dahlstrom’s inquiry, which among other demands required Sullivan to explain his party membership, the duration he has used the name Dan Sullivan, his connection to a consultant and any communication he may have had with other candidates or the Democratic Party.
Dahlstrom, who supervises elections, wrote to the challenger that the inquiry concerned “credible allegations” that he did not file his candidacy “with a good faith purpose to seek office but rather with a purpose to confuse voters and have them mistakenly vote for you rather than the incumbent with the same name and same political party affiliation.”
These concerns mirror claims made in a letter sent to her and Beecher this month from a National Republican Senatorial Committee lawyer.
The ACLU of Alaska released a statement saying it is “unaware of any other instance where the Lieutenant Governor has investigated a specific candidate for reasons other than determining whether a candidate meets federal, state and local eligibility requirements.” The organization said it was watching the developments.
Jahna Lindemuth, who served as Alaska attorney general under an independent governor, said probing someone’s reasons for seeking office “starts infringing on free speech concerns and other protections under the Constitution.” She suggested Dahlstrom could address voter confusion by marking the senator as the incumbent on the ballot.
Federal law mandates senators be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for no less than nine years and reside in the state they wish to represent when elected. The challenger Sullivan, who turns 69 this weekend, told the AP he relocated to Alaska in 1980 and worked for the U.S. Forest Service before changing careers to become an educator. He is currently retired.
The candidate declaration form required by the elections division requests their name, desired party affiliation for the ballot, address and preferred name display. By signing the form, candidates must confirm they satisfy citizenship, age and residency qualifications.
The division had previously approved the challenger Sullivan’s candidacy, listing him on the candidate roster as Dan J. Sullivan. The senator appears as Dan S. Sullivan and is marked as the incumbent.
At least one organization running advertisements supporting the senator, One Nation, has started identifying him as Sen. Dan S. Sullivan.
