What’s in a Name? Alaska GOP Succeeds in Stopping Democrats From Stealing the Senate Election
14th June 2026
Alaska’s election officials may have just saved a U.S. Senate seat from one of the more brazen ballot schemes in recent memory. The state’s Division of Elections issued a preliminary ruling this week that Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg is ineligible to appear on the 2026 Senate ballot, dealing a significant blow to Democrats – in what Republicans have characterized as a coordinated Democratic effort to siphon votes from incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan through deliberate name confusion.
Dan J. Sullivan is a 69-year-old retired teacher who filed to run as a Republican for the U.S. Senate mere days before the late-May filing deadline. Not only is his name virtually identical to the incumbent senator’s, but he’s also recycled the incumbent’s former campaign slogan, and is using a logo similar to the senator’s own branding. The attempt to deceive voters is obvious, and under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, where ballot position and name recognition carry outsized weight, the potential for voter confusion was significant and consequential.
According to a report from the Anchorage Daily News, Carol Beecher, director of the Division of Elections, made the state’s position clear in a letter to Dan J. Sullivan on Wednesday. “Based on a review of the evidence presented and in the Division’s possession, the Division has determined that the preponderance of evidence does not support your eligibility for the office of United States Senator,” Beecher wrote.