WASHINGTON — An Alaskan Republican who shares the same name as the state’s incumbent, Sen. Dan Sullivan, advanced past the open primary for the seat Wednesday — worsening a muddled GOP situation that could boost Dems.
Retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan made the cut in Alaska’s open contest that is sending the top four candidates from either party on to the general election, according to multiple projections over a week after the Aug. 18 primary.
Sullivan — dubbed “Decoy Dan’’ for registering as a GOPer days before the primary — is joining GOP Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Dem ex-Rep. Peltola in the final stretch. It was not immediately clear who the fourth candidate on the ballot will be.
Alaska’s general election in November will be ranked-choice voting.
Peltola has been leading in polls of the critical Alaska Senate contest, despite the state typically leaning red.
Dan J. Sullivan has denied accusations that he is a Democratic plant seeking to siphon votes from Sen. Sullivan by having the same name, thus boosting Peltola.
He insists that he’s a moderate Republican, despite telling the New York Times that he voted for the Democratic nominee in the last three presidential cycles, attended at least one “No Kings” protest, and backed Peltola in both her congressional campaigns.
The Last Frontier state last picked a Democrat for Senate in 2008, but Peltola managed to flip Alaska’s at-large US House seat in 2022, proving that she is a force to be reckoned with in statewide races.
Democrats see Alaska as one of their top four pick-up opportunities for the Senate this cycle alongside Maine, Ohio and North Carolina.
Complicating things for the Republicans has been Dan J. Sullivan’s inclusion on the ballot.
While a lower court judge initially kicked him off the ballot, citing evidence that he wasn’t mounting “an actual good-faith candidacy,” the Alaska Supreme Court let him back on.
The lower court judge had knocked “Decoy Dan” for registering as a Republican days before filing his candidacy.
Peltola’s campaign has meanwhile been hit by recent turbulence.
Earlier this month, Peltola ignited controversy when her campaign said it didn’t approve of former Vice President Kamala Harris’ fundraising message in support of her Senate bid.
Harris had urged her supporters to back Peltola, who is trying to win in a state that the former veep lost by about 14 percentage points.
Afterward, Peltola lost several senior campaign officials in what her team described as a shake-up to prepare for the general election.
She has been trying to run as a centrist-type Democrat in her effort to appeal to Alaska’s famously maverick voters.
Peltola has a 2-percentage-point edge over Sen. Sullivan in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of polls in a hypothetical two-way matchup.
