By SUZANNE DOWNING
July 1, 2026 – The Alaska Division of Elections has released its sample ballot for the Aug. 18 primary election, revealing how it intends to distinguish between two candidates named Dan Sullivan in Alaska’s closely watched U.S. Senate race.
The ballot identifies incumbent US Sen. Dan S. Sullivan as “(Registered Republican) Incumbent,” while Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. — the Petersburg man known widely as “Decoy Dan” — appears simply as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.”with no party designation beneath his name.
The division has not publicly explained why Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s Republican affiliation was omitted from the sample ballot, despite the Alaska Supreme Court’s ruling allowing him to appear on the ballot.
The distinction is notable because Sullivan’s attorney argued during court proceedings that identifying Sen. Dan Sullivan as the “incumbent” would be improper, characterizing the label as an “honorific.” The Division of Elections nevertheless retained the designation on the sample ballot.
The word “incumbent,” is not unique to this race. Throughout the Division of Elections website, sitting officeholders are routinely identified as incumbents, making the designation consistent with the agency’s standard practice.
The omission of a party label for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. is a separate question.
Sullivan registered as a Republican candidate when filing for office, but election records showed he remained listed as an undeclared candidate within the Division of Elections’ candidate filing system when he submitted his candidacy. It was ambiguous. The Alaska Republican Party has challenged his candidacy as fraudulent, an attempt to fool voters.
The ballot layout appears to reflect the Alaska Supreme Court’s instruction that election officials could take reasonable steps to distinguish between the two identically named candidates while remaining within existing election laws. The court left the specific ballot design to the Division of Elections after ordering that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. be restored to the ballot.
Whether the ballot design ends the legal dispute remains unclear.
Tuesday at noon was the given deadline for any further legal challenge before ballots went to print for military and overseas voters. As of Wednesday morning, no new lawsuit had been publicly announced.
The Division of Elections is expected to begin printing ballots immediately to meet federal deadlines for mailing absentee ballots to overseas and military voters.
July 4 is the federal deadline for ballots to be sent overseas to voters who are abroad. If Alaska’s ballots are not en route by then, the state will be in violation of federal law.
7 thoughts on “Sample ballot distinguishes between Alaska’s two Dan Sullivans, labels incumbent, omits party for challenger”
The Alaska Division of Elections has their “thumb on the scale” and have blatantly designed the ballot in favor of their preferred US Senate candidate. I, for one, will vote for a Dan Sullivan. To the dismay of Madame Beecher and her team, however mine will be a vote for the one from Petersburg.
Note: This is my second comment on this topic. The very similar first comment was not published on this site.
Interesting. Mary Peltola may be upset that you did not vote for her.
Interesting comment, that. We have been inundated with lefty comments that there are less severe ways to distinguish between candidates than removing Decoy Dan from the ballot. Even the AK Supremes noted that. Division of Elections suggested a way to make it crystal clear which candidate is which, something you are now whining about.
I do expect Your Side to be back in court rewriting the ballot language multiple times. Your problem is that while democrats might not mind turning the Division of Elections into a laughing stock, the Alaska courts may not want to be on that list by going along with your foolishness.
You guys ever heard of a Pyrrhic victory? One which the cost of winning is far more than the cost of losing? The world of politics is an interesting one. While every action will trigger a reaction. The political world is nonlinear, meaning there is no way to predict the reaction. There may be one. There may not be one. It may be larger or smaller than the action. But it is guaranteed that reaction will likely be in a direction and of a magnitude far larger than expected, putting you democrats smartly in FAFO land. Enjoy the ride. Cheers –
In a previous story it was noted: “(Decoy Dan) also attempted to appear on the ballot using the middle initial “S.,” matching the incumbent senator.”
I am surprised that this has not been more emphasized. IMO this is clear evidence of an intent to deceive.
Really,
It should be stated more truthfully:
Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr. (court appointed)
I love a good spoof, especially when the joke is on the Republicans. My next wonderful column is going to use this as a subscript to my name: Lifelong Conservative Republican.
I love fraud, deceipt, and political subterfuge. It’s how I’ve made my living for the past 55 years. Unfortunately, I’m old, wrinkled-up, mean, and battered by alcohol abuse. But I’m still in the game……..sorta.
Notso sincerely,
Derm the Mutt
Still Snorting and Farting lots
from Alaska.
Donations are now mandatory,
as my liquor supply is very low.
The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that extreme partisanship has replaced common sense and logic. Here, the new rules of law are: Democrat = good, goofy = yes, and judgment = bad.
Thank you, Alaska Judicial Council.