‘Fake Dan Sullivan’ Complicates Alaska Senate Race For GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan

‘Fake Dan Sullivan’ Complicates Alaska Senate Race For GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan

With more than 98% of the vote counted in the Alaska Senate primary, the field of 16 candidates has been winnowed down to four. [All candidates compete in a single primary, regardless of party affiliation, with the top four vote-getters advancing to the general election.]

The results were disappointing for Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and raise concerns about the GOP’s ability to hold the seat — and potentially maintain control of the Senate — in November.

Former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) led the pack with just over 48% of the vote, while Sullivan finished second at 42.74%, a troubling result that puts his reelection bid in question. Compounding matters for the senator is a candidate with the same name. Former elementary school teacher Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a registered Republican, received 2.44% of the vote.

Reportedly, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. was previously affiliated with the Alaskan Independence Party and changed his affiliation to Republican shortly before declaring his candidacy in this race. The Washington Examiner’s Byron York has dubbed him the “fake, dirty trick” candidate, which I’ll return to shortly.

In Alaska, the fake, dirty-trick Dan Sullivan finished in third place and made it to the general election. https://t.co/4VIU0kgYqV pic.twitter.com/WH4pVYZVeF

— Byron York (@ByronYork) August 19, 2026

Finally, two candidates, David B. Leslie (D) and Gerald L. Heikes (R), at 1.13% and 1.1%, are vying for the fourth-place spot. They are separated by just 20 votes.

But let’s return to Daniel J. Sullivan — aka the “fake Dan Sullivan.” It’s not a coincidence that a second candidate with the same name as the current senator from Alaska entered the race, which is why York referred to him as the fake, dirty-trick candidate. Rather, it was a deliberate attempt by Democrats tied to now-frontrunner Peltola to confuse voters ahead of the primary.

Adding to the ruse, fake Dan Sullivan initially asked election officials to list him on the ballot as “Dan S. Sullivan” — using the incumbent senator’s middle initial rather than his own.

Ben covered this story in July. At the time, the Alaska Division of Elections had barred him from the ballot, concluding that he had entered the race to sow confusion among voters. But the Alaska Supreme Court later overturned the decision, ruling that a candidate’s motivation for running has no bearing on his legal eligibility for the ballot.

Fake Dan Sullivan ultimately appeared on the ballot, though his party affiliation was not listed.

While both Peltola’s campaign and the Alaska Democratic Party have denied any involvement in the scheme, a series of suspicious connections, which Ben notes in his post, raised questions about those denials.

On Tuesday, NBC News reported that a source who was “familiar with the probe” told the outlet that the Department of Justice has issued grand jury subpoenas in the case. According to the source, federal investigators in Alaska are trying to determine whether fake Dan Sullivan “entered the race to confuse voters and steal votes from the incumbent, Dan S. Sullivan.”

DOJ issues grand jury subpoenas in dueling Dan Sullivans’ Republican Senate saga

Asked about why a Democratic consultant helped him file to run, Dan J. Sullivan declined to comment

Other fun fact:
Dan J Sullivan initially registered to run as Dan S. Sullivan, using the middle…

— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) August 19, 2026

In the clip below, Fox News’ Kevin Corke sheds some additional light on the fake Dan Sullivan. Despite claiming to be a Republican, he voted for the Democratic nominee in the last three presidential elections. He has protested against President Trump in the past and even attended a “No Kings” rally. Corke reports that he voted for Peltola in this race.

Corke explained why his candidacy is important. With approximately 600,000 registered voters in the state, if even a small number of Republicans accidentally vote for the fake Dan Sullivan, “well, that could hand the race to, say, Miss Peltola. Which is why many people are very upset about what they’re calling an obvious attempt to sabotage the real Dan Sullivan.”

🚨 ALASKA SHENANIGANS ALERT 

They’re not even hiding it anymore.
There’s a “Fake Dan Sullivan” running in the Alaska Senate primary, a retired school teacher who:

• Voted Democrat in the last THREE presidential elections
• Voted for the Democratic challenger
• Protested… pic.twitter.com/zrLd2B5ZsL

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) August 19, 2026

While Peltola’s 5-point lead in Tuesday’s primary is disappointing, a Republican political strategist who posts on X as @RedEaglePatriot provided some context on the Alaska primary results.

First, Peltola’s campaign outspent Sullivan’s by a 3 to 1 ratio. According to the Alaska Beacon, that is true. In addition to campaign expenditures, outside PACs also spent heavily in the race on both sides of the aisle.

Additionally, @RedEagle noted, “She got 51% in round 1 in 2024 and lost the general, for reference.”

This is also true. He is referring to Peltola’s bid for reelection to Congress in 2024 where she represented Alaska’s at-large district. In the primary, she received 50.89% of the votes compared to her Republican challenger, Nick Begich III, with just 26.57%. A second Republican candidate earned just under 20%, withdrew from the race, and endorsed Begich. Even with their combined support, Begich still trailed Peltola by 4.5 points. Yet he went on to win the general election.

Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system adds another layer of uncertainty, making the final outcome difficult to forecast.

Alaska's primary result doesn't tell us much. Peltola likely gets below 48% and she outspent Sullivan 3-1 during the primary.

She got 51% in round 1 in 2024 and lost the general, for reference.

And while Midterm primaries tend to be more R historically, they have moved left and… pic.twitter.com/dtHvD3lj7g

— Red Eagle Politics (@RedEaglePatriot) August 19, 2026

There is no sugarcoating Sullivan’s second-place finish. Peltola emerged from Tuesday’s primary with a clear advantage, and Republicans would be foolish to dismiss the warning signs.

But Alaska has surprised the pundits before. After a strong showing in the 2024 congressional primary, Peltola still lost to Begich. Between ranked-choice voting, the bizarre presence of a “fake” Dan Sullivan on the ballot, and uncertainty over how much outside money will pour into the race, Tuesday’s results may tell us far less about the ultimate outcome than we think.

One thing is certain: What once looked like a relatively comfortable Republican hold has become a race the GOP can no longer afford to take for granted.

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