Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan's primary challenger who has the same name is eligible for ballot, judge rules
A man with the same name and party affiliation as Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan is eligible to challenge the senator in the August primary, a judge ruled Friday.
TL;DR
- A judge ruled that Dan J. Sullivan, who shares the same name and party as Sen. Dan Sullivan, is eligible for the Alaska primary ballot.
- The ruling overturned a decision by the Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, who had disqualified the challenger.
- The judge stated the disqualification was based on an unstated "good faith" criteria not supported by the Constitution or Alaska law.
- The state's Department of Law is appealing the decision to the Alaska Supreme Court.
- The challenger's eligibility is significant as the Alaska Senate race is considered highly competitive.
- Sen. Sullivan and allies accuse the challenger of coordinating with Democrats to confuse voters and boost the chances of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola.
- Peltola's campaign and state Democrats deny these allegations, as does the challenger.
- Election officials had cited similarities in campaign materials and party affiliation changes as reasons for disqualification, but found no evidence of alleged coordination.