Two Dan Sullivans will be on the ballot in November for Alaska’s Senate seat, CNN’s Decision Desk projects, an outcome that could benefit Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola’s bid to flip the seat.
While incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan and Peltola were virtual locks to advance from last week’s all-party primary, where the top four vote finishers regardless of party affiliation continue to the general election, political newcomer and former school teacher Dan J. Sullivan secured his spot with just a few percentage points of the vote.
The ascent of Sullivan’s same-name challenger realizes a long-held GOP fear in Alaska, where voters will use a ranked-choice voting system in November. With two Dan Sullivans on the ballot, Republicans are increasingly concerned that newcomer Sullivan, who filed to run as a Republican, will confuse voters and split the vote in what is shaping up to be a highly competitive race.
To retake the Senate, Democrats must secure a net gain of at least four seats in November, and the national party has poured millions into its bet that the one-and-a-half-term former congresswoman can defeat the incumbent.
Early on, Sen. Sullivan accused Democratic leaders of planting Dan J. Sullivan in the race to confuse voters — an allegation Dan J. Sullivan and top Democrats deny — and urged Alaskan state officials to remove his challenger’s name from the ballot, with the backing of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
