Court clears Alaska Senate challenger Dan J. Sullivan for ballot access

A state judge cleared Dan J. Sullivan Jr. for Alaska’s August 18 U.S. Senate primary, ordering election officials to put the Petersburg retiree on the ballot after the state had blocked his candidacy as misleading.

The dispute centers on the 2026 race for Alaska’s Class II Senate seat, where incumbent Republican Dan S. Sullivan, first elected in 2014, is seeking a third term. Dan J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher from Petersburg, filed as a Republican before the June 1 filing deadline, setting up a contest in which both men share the same first and last name and the same party label on the ballot. Alaska’s top-four primary is set under the state’s ranked-choice voting system, with the general election on November 3.

On June 15, Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher ruled that Dan J. Sullivan Jr. could not appear on the ballot because the filing was not made in good faith and was intended to confuse voters. State lawyers argued in court that the agency should not have to accommodate a candidacy that could baffle voters. The challenger’s lawyer countered that the state had no authority to impose a good-faith requirement beyond the constitutional qualifications for Senate office.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Robinson sided with the challenger on June 27, reversing the disqualification and ordering the Division of Elections to place Dan J. Sullivan Jr. on the ballot for the primary.

More than 300 people tuned in live on June 25. Legislative attorney Andrew Dunmire told lawmakers that the division likely lacked legal justification to block the filing, and state lawyers said middle initials or an incumbent label on the ballot could help voters distinguish between the two candidates. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Republican allies attacked the filing as an attempt to mislead voters, while the challenger maintained he had the right to run. Mary Peltola’s campaign and the state party denied any involvement.