Politics

Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan Meets His Match: Another Candidate Named Dan Sullivan

Photo credit: Sharon Wilson/BLM Alaska/Flickr

Republican Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan is facing a challenger with the same name in the upcoming Senate race.

The senator is running against Dan J. Sullivan, a former elementary school teacher and bartender, who claimed in his campaign announcement that the senator has “failed to put Alaska first.” The new candidate could be a thorn in the side for Sullivan, who is already facing a competitive challenge against former Democratic Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola.

The other Sullivan did not mention a party affiliation and did not lay out any policy proposals.

“For too long, Senator Sullivan has failed to put Alaska first,” Sullivan said. “When you truly care about a people and a place, you have a duty to make every sacrifice within your power to protect them. That’s why I’m running.”

Sullivan suggested that Dan J. Sullivan is a plant by Democrats with the intent of causing confused voters to pick the wrong Sullivan. Gary Stevens, the Republican president of the Alaska Senate, cast doubt that the other Sullivan is a Democratic plant, though he stated that having two candidates with the same name will be “confusing,” according to The New York Times.

Alaska Landmine: Dan Sullivan files to run against Senator Dan Sullivan (R) in the Alaska Senate race pic.twitter.com/T7FpheWv9E

— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) May 29, 2026

Nick Puglia, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told the Times that Peltola and Senate Democrats were “resorting to deceitful political maneuvers that attempt to trick Alaskans.”

When Sullivan was first elected to the Senate in 2014, another Dan Sullivan, who was mayor of Anchorage at the time, was also on the primary ballot as a candidate for lieutenant governor, the Times reported.

The incumbent senator faces a tight race against Peltola, who was leading the race in the latest polls as of Monday. An Alaska Survey Research poll from May 26 found Peltola with a five-point lead, 48.4% to 43.8%. She raked in nearly $8.7 million directly to her campaign account over the first quarter of the year, while Sullivan raised $1.7 million directly to his account. She had approximately $5.7 million in cash on hand after spending nearly $3 million during that same period on campaign expenses.

Sullivan had over $7 million in his war chest at the start of April, giving him at a financial advantage in cash on hand over Peltola.

Democrats have targeted Sullivan over his support of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and his decision to enter a war with Iran. Voters across the state have grown frustrated with the rising prices of gas and other essential goods as the war wages on, which could threaten Sullivan’s chances of keeping his seat after the November election.

With most Alaska voters being politically unaffiliated, Democrats are eyeing Alaska as a potential win despite it being a deep red state. Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski defeated Trump-backed candidate Kelly Tshibaka in 2022, despite her previous vote to remove Trump from office over the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot in Feb. 2021.

Alaska has a ranked-choice voting system,

Sullivan’s office and Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.