We have entirely too many Dan Sullivans running around in Alaska, running for office to boot. OK, well, only two of the three Dan Sullivans are running for office, but they are running for the same Senate seat, which is likely to give an edge to the one Democrat in the race, former Representative Mary Peltola. In the Republican efforts to keep the Senate in Republican hands, this is shaping up to be a key seat.
But thanks to the (idiotic) ranked-choice voting, here we are. Now, to try to get the incumbent, Senator Dan Sullivan, over the top, President Trump has promised to come to Alaska to stump for the incumbent Dan Sullivan over the... other Dan Sullivan.
President Donald Trump will be making another visit to Alaska in his second term, he told reporters Wednesday, to support Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, in his race against former Congresswoman Mary Peltola.
“I’ll go out there to fight for him, just to show you how crooked the Democrats are,” the president said, answering a question from White House Correspondent Jon Decker.
The president said he will visit “the last 30 days before the election.”
“I will go to Alaska to make sure that a great senator gets reelected.”
We need every vote. In our part of the state, President Trump is still pretty popular. I would encourage any campaign stops with the president be done not in Anchorage and for sure not in Juneau, but up in the Mat-Su. Bring the efforts to where they'll be most appreciated.
The Sullivan (no, the Senator) campaign was quick to respond.
In a statement to Alaska’s News Source, Sullivan spokesperson Nate Adams says the candidate “looks forward to welcoming the President, and continuing their work of delivering real results for Alaska.
“President Trump is coming back to the state he’s delivered for more than any other president in our nation’s history,” Adams said. “On day one of his administration, President Trump signed an executive order unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential, ending years of D.C.-imposed lockdowns on our lands, our energy, and our jobs, and green-lighting projects that are putting thousands of Alaskans to work.”
The Dan Sullivan campaign - the other one - hasn't had anything to say about the president's visit. I'm not saying that this is a sham candidacy, but this is precisely the response you'd expect from a sham candidacy. And, note, the other, non-Senator Sullivan's campaign has received support from Amber Lee, a well-known Democrat strategist and campaign apparatchik, who has previously always worked on Democrat campaigns. You can do the math there.
Mary Peltola's campaign replied with a meaningless platitude.
Responding to Trump’s planned visit, the Peltola campaign sent a one-sentence response: “Mary is an independent voice who will work with anyone to put Alaska first.”
Uh-huh.
At least the incumbent Senator Sullivan has racked up some endorsements, including one from a former mayor of Anchorage named... Dan Sullivan.
This is precisely the kind of chaotic horse squeeze that ranked-choice voting (RCV) was aimed to create; that's why it was overwhelmingly supported by Democrats. Now we see the bitter fruit of RCV, with a sham candidate (bet on it) running to give a Democrat an edge.
RCV will be on the ballot again, for a repeal this November. There's another reason for Alaskans to get out to vote. Last cycle, the repeal initiative failed by only a tad over 700 votes, less than a one-point margin. This year? This absolute farce of an election should make it very plain that this scheme, this RCV stupidity, is a bad, bad system.
Come on, Alaskans. Let's turn off the RCV tap of stupidity. Vote yes on Prop. 2.