PETERSBURG, Alaska (AP) — While Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan and Democratic rival Mary Peltola were front and center at Fourth of July parades across Alaska, a third candidate sharing the senator’s name was content to enjoy the holiday quietly in the small fishing community he has called home for decades.
He fit right in — which is easy to do in a place where nearly everyone knows each other. He kept a low profile and stayed away from campaigning. “I didn’t want to turn it into something that was about me rather than about the celebration,” he said.
This candidate — Dan J. Sullivan — has been anything but a typical political contender. From the moment he entered the race, he faced fierce criticism for sharing both the name and party affiliation of the sitting senator — Dan S. Sullivan — in a contest that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate come November. The incumbent and his Republican allies have claimed the same-named challenger in the August 18th primary is a phony candidate operating in concert with Democrats to create confusion and benefit Peltola. Both Dan J. Sullivan and the Peltola campaign have flatly rejected those claims.
A senior state elections official removed Dan J. Sullivan from the ballot, but the Alaska Supreme Court later stepped in and ruled he must be included.
In Alaska, all candidates — regardless of party — compete together in a single primary. The four candidates who receive the most votes move on to the ranked-choice general election in November. Top races can feature more than a dozen contenders. Dan J. Sullivan is one of 16 people vying for the Senate seat. The incumbent and Peltola are the most prominent candidates and the only ones who have publicly reported raising campaign funds.
Petersburg, where the challenger has spent decades of his life, is an island community of roughly 3,000 residents in southeast Alaska, reachable only by air or water. Many people who have known him for years find it nearly impossible to believe that their Dan Sullivan — a retired elementary and middle school teacher — could be involved in political trickery.
“You really have to do a lot of mental gymnastics to suddenly not respect Dan Sullivan, because he’s honestly a very stand-up human being,” said Orin Pierson, publisher of the Petersburg Pilot newspaper.
Even residents who were undecided about their vote, or who declined to share their preference, took issue with the state’s effort to block him from running, pointing out that he met all the age, residency, and citizenship requirements outlined in the U.S. Constitution.
“To say somebody can’t run — that he’s fake — that’s fear,” said Linda Bunge, who was attending a community potluck at a park where yellowish seaweed blanketed the beach at low tide. Bunge said she is leaning toward voting for Peltola, a former congresswoman, but would give Dan J. Sullivan some consideration.
Jeigh Stanton Gregor, a borough Assembly member who worked alongside Sullivan at the local elementary school years ago, said he was a bit surprised to see him running, noting that people had previously tried to get Sullivan to run for local offices. He described Sullivan’s character as “unimpeachable.”
Stanton Gregor said he wants to watch how the race develops before committing to a candidate. He finds Dan J. Sullivan’s concerns about rising healthcare costs compelling, but he also has had a positive working relationship with the senator and holds Peltola in high regard. A registered Democrat, Stanton Gregor said he typically votes based on the individual rather than the party.
“Being a good human carries a lot of weight with me,” he said.
Last month, Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who has authority over elections, announced a formal investigation into Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy. She pointed to what she called “credible allegations” that he ran in coordination with another candidate and campaign in an effort to “manipulate voters.” The announcement followed claims by a lawyer for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, who argued that Dan J. Sullivan’s use of a consultant who had previously worked with Democrats was proof of an attempt to mislead voters and “rig the election” for Peltola — a position the Republican Senate campaign organization has continued to push.
Dan J. Sullivan maintained the state had no legal grounds to remove him from the race. He called the allegation of coordination with Peltola “entirely false” and said a consultant’s past clients were no reason to investigate him. The state Democratic Party and affiliated campaign groups also denied having any role in recruiting him or any connection to his campaign. The director of the state Division of Elections, Carol Beecher, in her decision to disqualify him, did not cite any evidence of actual coordination.
Instead, she concluded he had not filed a “good-faith candidacy,” pointing to factors such as his lack of prior Republican Party affiliation and a campaign website that resembled the senator’s.
A state court judge threw out her ruling, finding it lacked constitutional or legal grounding and that there was insufficient evidence to conclude Dan J. Sullivan intended to confuse voters. The state Supreme Court upheld his placement on the ballot, leaving the Division of Elections to sort out the logistics.
While Dan J. Sullivan sought to appear on the ballot as Republican Dan J. Sullivan, he is instead listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. with no party affiliation. The senator appears as Republican Dan S. Sullivan and carries the label “incumbent” — a designation not given to other candidates seeking reelection.
Dan J. Sullivan said he doesn’t think that arrangement is fair, but acknowledged that if the agency’s real concern “is truly that I’m going to confuse people, then this certainly will be a way that people should not be confused.”
He openly acknowledges that his name gives him a leg up over the 13 other candidates who have little to no public recognition or campaign backing. He is now working out how to capitalize on the attention while handling the added scrutiny. He plans to pursue fundraising, may visit other communities, and could take part in candidate forums. He currently maintains a Facebook page and a basic campaign website.
“I want something to change, and it’s my right to do that,” he said. “I could put up a yard sign; I could write letters. In this case, I thought, wow, this would reach a lot more people.”
No single issue drove the Petersburg Sullivan to enter the race, but he said he had grown increasingly frustrated with a senator he views as unresponsive to the people he represents. He also wanted the incumbent to join Alaska’s senior senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, in speaking out against a compensation fund proposed by the Trump administration that could potentially benefit individuals who took part in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Dan J. Sullivan said he is concerned that President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and the conflict with Iran are pushing costs higher for Alaskans. He does not believe the rural healthcare funding passed by Congress last year — and touted as a major win by the senator — is doing enough to address people’s immediate needs.
Petersburg, like many small Alaskan communities, has limited access to healthcare. Those needing specialized medical attention must travel to larger cities. Residents often make the most of trips to Juneau, the nearest sizable city, by loading their vehicles onto the state ferry and stocking up on groceries and supplies at lower prices.
Resident Grace Wolf said she values what the senator has accomplished, citing his fiscal responsibility and military background. The senator served as a Marine for many years and retired as a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. Still, “I feel like this time around, grassroots might be the way to go,” she said.
She plans to cast her vote for Dan J. Sullivan — the man she knows simply as Mr. Sullivan.
Wolf said she worries about whether people can afford to remain in or relocate to the area, and about protecting the local fishing industry that drives the regional economy. Having elected officials who truly understand those challenges matters deeply, she said.
“I think we stand a better chance with having them at the helm and protecting our interests. It doesn’t matter if they’ve got a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ by their names. They’re our neighbors and they know what we’re going through.”
