A closely watched U.S. Senate campaign in Alaska is stoking controversy after a candidate bearing the same name as one of the major candidates entered the race.As the Republican incumbent in the race, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) is engaged in one of the tightest campaigns for the upper chamber in the country, facing a formidable challenger in former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola. The recent entrance of another Dan Sullivan into the race has triggered accusations from the incumbent lawmaker and top Republican leadership that Democrats plotted his candidacy to derail the senator’s campaign and confuse voters.“This thing in Alaska is bizarre,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) warned this week. “I mean, really, and whoever contrived that — hopefully you guys will figure that out over time, but that obviously is designed to confuse the electorate in the state of Alaska.”
“I think that any disruption in the political ecosystem right now is probably designed by Democrats to give their candidates an advantage,” he added.
The other Dan Sullivan announced his campaign for the Senate last week, ahead of the Aug. 18 open primary election, saying the senator “has failed to put Alaska first.” Like the incumbent lawmaker, the other Dan Sullivan is a registered Republican, according to the Alaska Division of Elections, and his campaign website also describes him as a Republican candidate.
