{"id":2008,"date":"2026-06-09T06:33:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T06:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2008"},"modified":"2026-06-09T06:33:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T06:33:43","slug":"the-other-dan-sullivan-in-alaskas-us-senate-race-says-candidacy-was-my-choice-not-a-sham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2008","title":{"rendered":"The other Dan Sullivan in Alaska\u2019s US Senate race says candidacy was \u2018my choice,\u2019 not a sham"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) \u2014 Alaska U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan acknowledges that sharing a name and party affiliation with the incumbent Republican gives him \u201can instant megaphone” in the crowded primary race. But Sullivan said his campaign isn’t a sham or something Democrats put him up to doing.<\/p>\n

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He said friends for years have jokingly referred to him as senator and asked if he has ever thought about running. He said he\u2019s been considering it for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my choice,\u201d Sullivan, who lives in the small fishing community of Petersburg, said in a telephone interview Monday.<\/p>\n

Last week, Sen. Dan Sullivan accused the challenger Sullivan of \u201ctrying to trick\u201d voters to help his main rival in the race, Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola. The senator suggested the other Sullivan’s entrance in the August primary was part of a coordinated effort by Democrats and Peltola’s campaign to confuse voters, an accusation they deny. He threatened litigation to get to the bottom of it.<\/p>\n

Late Monday, Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, a Republican who oversees elections in the state, announced she was opening an investigation into the candidacy of the challenger Sullivan.<\/p>\n

\u2018I have every right to run\u2019<\/p>\n

The issue is of national concern to Republicans because they are seeking to hold onto their majority in the U.S. Senate in what is expected to be a difficult midterm election year for the party in power. Sullivan, the challenger, dismissed claims that his candidacy is a merely a ruse to undermine the senator’s reelection chances.<\/p>\n

He said he has had no contact with Peltola’s campaign \u2014 \u201czero, none, zilch\u201d \u2014 and said \u201cno\u201d when asked if anyone from the state Democratic Party or any national Democratic operatives had contacted him to run.<\/p>\n

A Peltola spokesperson, Harry Child, has said the campaign \u201chas no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.\u201d The executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party, Jenny-Marie Stryker, said her organization \u201cis in no way affiliated with either Dan Sullivan.\u201d A Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson, Monica Robinson, replied \u201cno\u201d when asked if the group had been involved in urging the challenger Sullivan to run.<\/p>\n

Sullivan called sharing a name with the Alaska’s incumbent U.S. senator \u201ca matter of fate\u201d and said he had done nothing wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have every right to run for whatever office I’m qualified for, and I\u2019m qualified for this office,\u201d the challenger said, adding: \u201cI think I\u2019m doing what most Americans would think would be a patriotic thing to do when you\u2019re unsatisfied with the status quo. You stand up and say, I\u2019m going to fight for things I believe that are going to make my community better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ballots in prior years in Alaska have not identified the incumbent, but the Alaska Division of Elections\u2019 current candidate list online does. It also distinguishes the candidates using a middle initial \u2014 Dan S. Sullivan for the senator and Dan J. Sullivan for the challenger.<\/p>\n

Alaska has open primaries in which the top four vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the ranked choice general election in November. Sen. Sullivan’s campaign worries having two Dan Sullivans on the ballot could confuse voters.<\/p>\n

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Sen. Sullivan’s campaign, in a statement Monday, said, \u201cAlaskans deserve a fair and honest election \u2014 not political games meant to manipulate the ballot and benefit Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n

The challenger said he was registered with the limited government-leaning Alaskan Independence Party for decades, until the party’s dissolution late last year. Election officials had said voters registered with the party could change their affiliation but if they did not, they’d be shown as \u201cundeclared.\u201d Sullivan said he then was listed as undeclared until filing to run for office, when he registered as Republican.<\/p>\n

He said he was motivated in part by his late father, whom he described as a \u201ctrue, compassionate, conservative Republican.\u201d He said if he had to label himself, it would be \u201ca pragmatic Republican centrist\u201d \u2014 similar to Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, but \u201cwith touches of a Rand Paul Republican in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he grew up in the Chicago area but was drawn to Alaska and put down roots nearly 50 years ago in Petersburg. The fishing community of about 3,400 in southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest is known as \u201cLittle Norway\u201d for its many residents with Scandinavian roots. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service before changing careers and becoming a teacher. He has since retired.<\/p>\n

Candidate ponders how to run a campaign<\/p>\n

Like most communities in Alaska, Petersburg isn’t connected to the state’s main road system and is accessible only by air or water. Juneau, the nearest city, is about 45 minutes away by plane.<\/p>\n

Petersburg sits on Mitkof Island, which is distinguished by mountains, thick stands of forest and boggy areas called muskeg. Sea lions hauled up on buoys and humpback whales and orcas are common sights off its shores.<\/p>\n

Sullivan, who will turn 69 this weekend, passed on an interview request last Friday, he said, because the king salmon were running and he wanted to fish.<\/p>\n

As far as his run for office, the challenger said he plans to do some fundraising and hopes to campaign in the state’s larger cities, including Anchorage and Juneau, but he so far has no firm plans to do so and is working on the details.<\/p>\n

He finds the current dustup over his Senate run \u2014 and the incumbent’s reaction \u2014 a bit surprising.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess my thought would be, \u2018Dude, why don\u2019t you just run your campaign?\u2019 If you\u2019ve got a strong record, run on your record. People will love you for it and you\u2019ll be swept back into office,\u201d he said Monday. \u201cWhy would he be concerned that a guy out of Petersburg is this huge threat?\u201d<\/p>\n

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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) \u2014 Alaska U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan acknowledges that sharing a name and party affiliation with the incumbent Republican gives him \u201can instant megaphone” in the crowded primary race. 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