Dan J. Sullivan Switches to Undeclared for Alaska Senate Race as DOJ Seeks Election Pause
Updated
Updated · Alaska Beacon · Oct 26
Dan J. Sullivan Switches to Undeclared for Alaska Senate Race as DOJ Seeks Election Pause
3 articles · Updated · Alaska Beacon · Oct 26
Summary
Alaska records show Dan J. Sullivan entered the general election as undeclared after marking that affiliation on an absentee-ballot request for the August primary, shifting from the Republican registration he adopted in June.
Monday’s disclosure undercut Sullivan’s initial claim that he had not requested the change; after seeing the form, he acknowledged it by email and said he was “frazzled by all of this.”
The switch matters because election officials had earlier cited his Republican status in rejecting his candidacy as not in good faith, a decision later reversed by the Alaska Supreme Court.
On the ballot, he appears as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” without a party label, while incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is listed as a registered Republican; polls show both trail far behind the incumbent and Democrat Mary Peltola.
The naming dispute has already drawn federal intervention: the Justice Department sued last week to halt certification unless Dan S. Sullivan wins, arguing the similarly named candidates could confuse voters.