The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Monday that a man with the same name as Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan is qualified to run for the seat and ordered elections officials to place him on the August primary ballot.
The unanimous 5-0 ruling came hours after the court heard arguments and affirmed an earlier state court decision finding that the Division of Elections had "abused its discretion" in disqualifying the challenger. The court sent back to the division the issue of how the candidate should be listed on the ballot, saying a full opinion would be released later.
The case stems from the candidacy filing last month by Dan Sullivan, 69, a retired teacher from the small fishing community of Petersburg, Alaska. Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher had ruled June 15 that the challenger's candidacy was not filed in good faith and appeared designed to confuse voters, noting he recently changed his party affiliation to Republican after previously being registered differently.
What the Left Is Saying
Alaska Democrats and supporters of Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola have denied any coordination with the challenger Sullivan. The challenger himself told the Associated Press that running for office was "my choice." He said he grew frustrated with the incumbent and decided the timing was right to run. "I just decided it was something I needed to do," he said. "I will find out if it was the right thing or not, but I'm going to give it a shot." Democratic groups have generally welcomed the ruling as upholding ballot access rights and preventing state officials from disqualifying candidates based on perceived motives rather than legal qualifications.
What the Right Is Saying
Sen. Sullivan's campaign and Republican allies alleged the challenger was a sham candidate working with Democrats to sow confusion in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. The National Republican Senatorial Committee and Alaska Republican Party chair filed complaints questioning the challenger's party affiliation and motives. Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who oversees elections, announced an investigation into the candidacy. Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sen. Sullivan's campaign, said Monday they were disappointed by the ruling but encouraged that "Beecher will be able to use her expertise to differentiate between the Petersburg fraud and the incumbent — Senator Dan Sullivan — to the benefit of Alaska voters." Attorneys general from 14 Republican-led states submitted a brief supporting keeping the challenger off the ballot.
What the Numbers Show
Alaska's Senate race is one of about half a dozen contests considered competitive enough to determine control of the chamber during President Donald Trump's final two years in office. More than a dozen candidates are running in the August primary. The top four vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, advance to a ranked choice general election in November. The Division of Elections initially certified both Sullivans as candidates, identifying the challenger as Dan J. Sullivan and the incumbent as Dan S. Sullivan. State attorneys had argued that even using middle initials would not sufficiently distinguish between the two candidates.
The Bottom Line
The Alaska Supreme Court's ruling clears the way for two Republicans named Dan Sullivan to appear on the same primary ballot this August. Elections officials must now determine within existing state law how to list both candidates so voters can distinguish between them. A full opinion explaining the court's reasoning is expected later, which could provide more guidance on Alaska's standards for candidate good-faith filing requirements. The ruling limits what elections divisions can use to disqualify candidates, with Judge Matthews noting the determination "was based upon a new, previously unstated, 'good-faith' criteria" not found in constitutional or state law requirements for Senate eligibility.