Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) ordered an investigation on October 28 into the recruitment of a candidate with a similar name to incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK). The investigation by the Department of Public Safety will examine if the effort violated state law. The controversy involves two candidates on the November 3 ballot: the incumbent, identified as Dan S. Sullivan, and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher running as an unaffiliated candidate.
The New York Times reported on October 28 that aides for challenger Mary Peltola (D) worked with Democratic operatives to identify and recruit a candidate named Dan Sullivan to siphon votes from the incumbent. According to the report, a staffer was instructed to review every person named "Dan Sullivan" in Alaska, eventually recruiting Daniel J. Sullivan. The Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) have denied involvement in recruiting the second Sullivan, though former campaign manager Elisa Rios told the Times that Peltola was aware of the effort.
In June, Alaska Elections Director Carol Beecher initially ruled Daniel J. Sullivan ineligible, stating his filing was a "deliberate attempt" to confuse voters. She noted he tried to use the same middle initial as the incumbent and modeled his campaign website after the senator's. However, the Alaska Supreme Court overturned that decision later in June, ruling that election officials lacked the authority to disqualify a candidate based on their motives. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit last week to block certification of the race if the incumbent loses by a margin that could be attributed to voter confusion.
Under Alaska's ranked-choice voting system, a person who mistakenly ranks the unaffiliated Daniel J. Sullivan first could still have their vote count for the incumbent if they rank him second. However, if a voter selects only the unaffiliated Sullivan and leaves other ranks blank, their vote would be exhausted and not transferred if he is eliminated. The U.S. Justice Department has argued that if the margin of victory is smaller than the number of votes cast for the second Sullivan, the results may not reflect the "will of the voters."
Voters in Alaska will cast their ballots on Tuesday, November 3. The ballot will list the incumbent as "Sullivan, Dan S. (Registered Republican) Incumbent" and the challenger as "Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr." with no party affiliation. Following the election, the Justice Department's request to delay certification will be addressed in federal court if the results fall within the contested margin. House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) also launched a congressional probe into the matter on October 29. State investigators have not yet provided a deadline for their findings.