How Many Dan Sullivans Live in Alaska and Are Politicians?

 Daniel Albert Sullivan (born June 16, 1951), American businessman and politician, served on the Anchorage Assembly (1999-2008), as mayor of Anchorage (2009-2015), and was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor of Alaska (2014). He is the son of George M. Sullivan, the longest-serving Anchorage mayor. 

Sullivan announced his candidacy for the Senate on June 1, 2016, to run for the seat currently held by Lisa Murkowski, but he dropped out of the race two weeks later on June 16, 2016. If he had been elected, Alaska would have been represented in the U.S. Senate by two different men named Dan Sullivan.

Senator Daniel Scott Sullivan (born November 13, 1964) is an American politician, attorney, and Marine Corps veteran. He has been the junior United States senator from Alaska since 2015. He is a Republican who served as Alaska attorney general (2009 to 2010) and commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (2009-2010). 

Alaskans may be surprised to learn that a third man named Dan Sullivan lives in the state. Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. registered to run for the seat currently held by Senator Dan S. Sullivan and has been referred to as Dan “Sham” Sullivan. Francesca Cella covered the senator and the would-be senatorial candidate for The Daily Signal. 

An Alaskan candidate for U.S. Senate who ran under the same name and party affiliation as incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan has been declared ineligible to appear on the primary ballot by the state’s elections director.

On Monday, Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher stated in a letter to candidate Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. that his election filing was not to “declare an actual good-faith candidacy for the office of United States Senator, but was instead filed with a purpose to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot’s fairness or neutrality.”

Sullivan filed for candidacy only two days before the June 1 deadline – and as Beecher pointed out, he filed as “Dan Sullivan” and did not include his middle initial or suffix to differentiate himself from the incumbent senator.

Sharing the name with the senator is merely a “matter of fate,” this Sullivan claims. “I am a qualified candidate who followed the rules and filed to run for office under my legal name,” he said last week.

At one point, Sullivan listed “S,” rather than “J,” as his middle initial, exactly mimicking the senator’s name.

Even the two candidates’ logos are hard to distinguish. Both include the last name “Sullivan” and the Alaska north star in white and yellow lettering on a blue background, with slightly different fonts.

Beecher further cited that Sullivan did not usually go by “Dan,” and observed he had only recently registered as a Republican.

Beecher’s statement came in response to a letter from the National Republican Senate Committee noting that Sullivan’s campaign manager is a consultant and longtime supporter of the opposing Democrat candidate, Mary Peltola, and that Sullivan himself has donated several hundred dollars to Democrat candidates nationwide.

“The only plausible explanation for someone with this record running for office as a ‘registered Republican’ is to mislead unwitting Alaska voters who intend to cast a ballot for incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan,” the NRSC stated.

“Sham Candidate Sullivan” is merely a Democrat ploy to confuse Republicans and split their votes between two candidates in order to bolster Peltola’s chances of victory, according to the NRSC.

It’s no secret that Alaska is a crucial state for Democrats. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has listed Alaska as one of its top five target states this cycle since February 2025, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer listed Alaska as one of “the four states we have to pick up to win back the Senate.”

Sullivan has 30 days to appeal the decision before his candidacy is officially terminated. Alaska’s primary elections are set for Aug. 18, and the top four candidates will advance to the general election.

Alaska does not need more confusion in its elections because there is already plenty with the ranked-choice voting system. RINO Lisa Murkowski was instrumental in driving through the change in voting. Alaskans are trying again to get rid of it, while also attempting to get Murkowski out of office.

Someone suggested that Senator Dan Sullivan add to his campaign the notation that he is Dan S. (Senator) Sullivan while the sham candidate is Dan J. (Joker) Sullivan. Alaskans would have understood the notation.