An activist judge has overturned a ruling from the Alaska’s Division of Elections that prohibited a spoiler candidate with the same name of Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan from appearing on the ballot.
Alaska state judge rules the other Dan Sullivan can appear on the US Senate ballot.
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) June 27, 2026
Ruling is expected to be appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court pic.twitter.com/VRT7OhtRuk
The new ruling will allow for Daniel J. Sullivan to appear on the ballot using his requested name of Dan Sullivan and a party affiliation of Republican. The false Sullivan had never previously affiliated with the Republican party up until his decision to run for office against the incumbent Dan Sullivan. He likewise employed a consultant who is a well known supporter of Mary Peltola, a Democrat running for the same office.
The decision from the Division of Elections had previously found that Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy was an obvious attempt at confusing voters to harm the incumbent Sullivan. An investigation by the body found that Daniel J. Sullivan had “never registered or sought ballot access” under the name Dan Sullivan. It further revealed that his candidacy application had listed his name as “Dan S. Sullivan,” the same middle initial as the incumbent Sullivan.
#AKSEN news: Alaska elections director strikes Dan J. Sullivan from the ballot.
— Lisa Kashinsky (@lisakashinsky) June 15, 2026
“the preponderance
of the evidence is that you chose this new nickname and party affiliation because that name and party
affiliation happen to be the name and party affiliation of another candidate… pic.twitter.com/6eB9moX7Tl
The investigation likewise concluded that the false Sullivan had adopted a campaign website and slogan extremely similar to that of the incumbent Sullivan, a decision that elections officials believed to be deliberate.
The false Sullivan never attempted to provide additional evidence to support the legitimacy of his campaign when requested by state elections officials.
The judge who overturned the ruling from the Division of Elections, Thomas Matthews, was appointed by Alaska’s Gov. Bill Walker in 2018. Walker was no stranger to employing absurd election schemes in the pursuit of power, as he famously ran as an “independent” in 2014 under a merged campaign with the state’s Democrat nominee serving as his Lieutenant Governor. Walker made the decision after losing the Republican nomination for the seat in 2010.
The decision from Matthews comes just before ballots for the election are set to print on June 28. The ruling will almost certainly face an appeal from the incumbent Dan Sullivan.
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