Alaska voters went to the polls on Tuesday to narrow a crowded field of Senate contenders in one of the most closely watched primaries of this year’s midterm cycle, a contest complicated by an unusual quirk: two candidates sharing the exact same name on a single ballot.
Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan, seeking a third term in the Senate, faced Democratic former congresswoman Mary Peltola and a separate candidate also named Dan Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher from the small island community of Petersburg with no relation to the senator, after a months long legal battle over whether the latter should be permitted to appear on the ballot at all. Under Alaska’s open primary system, all candidates from every party compete on a single ballot, with the top four vote-getters advancing to a ranked-choice general election in November.
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The Sullivan-versus-Sullivan storyline dominated headlines throughout the summer after the director of Alaska’s Division of Elections, Carol Beecher, ruled in June that the challenger, formally listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., should be disqualified on the grounds that his candidacy was not mounted “in good faith.” Republican Party officials had argued that allowing two candidates with an identical name and party affiliation onto the same ballot risked confusing voters, and some, including Senator Sullivan himself, suggested the challenger had been recruited by Democrats specifically to siphon Republican votes and benefit Peltola’s campaign.
That decision was overturned weeks later by Alaska Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews, who found that the division’s justification for exclusion had no basis “in the Constitution, Alaska law or the division’s own regulations.” Matthews formally declared the challenger an eligible candidate, clearing the way for both men to appear on Tuesday’s ballot, the senator listed as Dan S. Sullivan with an “incumbent” designation attached to his name, and the challenger listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., with no party affiliation.
Sullivan Jr., who spoke to reporters ahead of the vote, rejected the accusation that his campaign was a partisan plot, saying his decision to run stemmed from frustration with the incumbent’s record. The dispute drew the attention of US President Donald Trump, who used a social media post endorsing the senator in the closing days of the campaign to warn supporters against confusion at the ballot box, urging them explicitly to vote for “SULLIVAN, DAN S.”
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Alaska has long been regarded as reliably Republican territory in federal elections, yet the state has emerged for a third consecutive election cycle as one of a small handful of genuine battlegrounds in the fight for Senate control. Sullivan, who first won his seat in 2014, entered Tuesday’s primary with a substantial financial advantage, having reported more than $5.8 million in his campaign account at the close of last year and continuing to draw heavily from a national fundraising apparatus, including a committee called Sullivan Victory that has pulled in large contributions from donors well outside Alaska.
Peltola, a former US House member who made history as the first Alaska Native elected to Congress before losing her seat to Republican Nick Begich in 2024, entered the Senate race in January and quickly demonstrated an ability to raise money at pace, with her campaign reporting $1.5 million collected within the first 24 hours of her candidacy. Her entry prompted independent analysts to reassess the competitiveness of the race, a shift reflected in ratings changes by organisations tracking the broader battle for Senate control this cycle.
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Tuesday’s ballot also featured a contest for Alaska’s single, at-large congressional seat, where Republican Representative Nick Begich sought a second term against independent candidate Bill Hill, a fisherman and former educator from a small village in the state’s southwest. Begich, who defeated Peltola in 2024 after an earlier unsuccessful bid in 2022, campaigned on his record in Washington, casting himself as hardworking and effective in the role.
Progressive Democrat Matt Schultz, who had earlier suspended his campaign for the seat while remaining on the ballot, urged his supporters to back Hill instead, with Hill leaning into concerns over the cost of living to build his case to voters. Schultz’s campaign indicated he would formally withdraw from the general election if he happened to place among the top four finishers in the primary.
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Beyond the Senate and House contests, Tuesday’s primary featured a crowded field vying for governor, with two-term Republican incumbent Mike Dunleavy barred by term limits from seeking re-election. Current Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom entered the race to succeed him, one of several candidates competing to lead a state government currently structured around a coalition arrangement in the Alaska House that includes Democrats, independents and a number of Republicans governing together.
Voters also weighed in on a statewide ballot initiative that would reimpose limits on campaign contributions in state and local elections, alongside a series of contests for seats in the state legislature. Alaska law provides for an automatic recount in the event of a tied vote, while candidates in closer contests may request and pay for a recount of their own.
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With the state’s open primary structure sending its four highest vote-getters in each race directly into a ranked-choice general election in November, Tuesday’s results were expected to determine not only which candidates would face off in the fall but also whether the presence of two identically named Republicans in the Senate field might meaningfully split the party’s vote, a scenario that could work to Peltola’s advantage if both Sullivans qualify for the general election ballot.
Alaska election officials continued counting ballots into the evening, with full results expected in the coming days as outlying precincts across the state’s vast geography reported in.
