Well, it's now official. Alaska's Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) will, in November, face Democrat Mary Peltola - and that other Dan Sullivan. The fourth name on that ranked-choice voting (RCV) ballot hasn't yet been officially named, but let's face it, fourth place on an RCV ballot is pretty much the definition of "also ran."
But while the Sullivan/Sullivan issue is, for now, decided, there's just a lot about Dan Sullivan (no, not that Dan Sullivan, the other Dan Sullivan) that just sparks skepticism about the whole thing.
Dan J. Sullivan Jr., a Senate candidate in Alaska who has made headlines for sharing a name with incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, R-Alaska, has officially advanced to the general election, The Associated Press announced on Wednesday.
He joins Sen. Sullivan and former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, as the third of the final four candidates.
Alaska has yet to announce the fourth.
None of this is surprising; this is the outcome we expected (and I predicted) when we saw the initial numbers from Alaska's primary balloting. What is becoming interesting is the more we find out about the other Dan Sullivan, the more the whole thing smells like a setup. Why? Here's why, and I'm going to tell you: Someone is playing games with our (idiotic) ranked-choice voting system, and it's not Dan Sullivan; it's Dan Sullivan, along with whoever is behind him.
First, Dan Sullivan, the one who's not currently a senator, has a website, but it contains no political content to speak of; he takes no stand on any given issue. (That may change now, and quickly.) But the interesting bit is the background of some of his campaign helpers.
According to his biography, Sullivan Jr. spent his early career working blue-collar jobs like logging, construction, bartending and forestry but decided to enter his bid for Senate after growing frustrated with government mismanagement.
A Fox News Digital review of the campaign earlier this year uncovered that Amber Lee, a progressive consultant, had helped author some of Sullivan Jr.’s campaign materials. Lee previously supported Peltola, the former congresswoman.
The campaign has drawn criticism from Republicans who believe it’s an effort to put two "Dan Sullivans" on the ballot in November and, through ranked choice voting, intentionally draw away votes from the senator.
That's precisely what's going on, and nobody will ever convince me otherwise. The Dan Sullivan the interloper campaign is designed to siphon votes away from Dan Sullivan the incumbent. RCV was heavily supported by Democrats, in and out of the Great Land, and they have since used it to their advantage. If anyone had any remaining doubts about this, just note the interloper's use of Amber Lee as campaign support; Amber Lee, the "progressive consultant" who used to support (and likely still does) Mary Peltola.
What's more, it seems to be working. As of this writing, Mary Peltola is leading Senator Sullivan in the primary vote count, 76,380 votes to 65,545 with the interloper Dan Sullivan trailing with 3,849 votes. Neither top candidate has garnered the 50 percent of the vote that would decide an RCV election on the first count, but even if every vote for the interloper were to be added in a round 2 tally to Senator Sullivan, he'd still be behind with only 69,394 votes.
The American left is using Alaska as a guinea pig for RCV, and this little episode shows that they are learning how best to use it. And you'd better believe this is a system they will try to take nationwide.
We have only a few weeks now until the general election. Democrats in Alaska and Outside will do everything they can to muddy the waters between now and then. And the numbers, right now, are not encouraging. Granted, turnouts in primaries are generally low; let's hope the general election surprises us all.
At least the third Dan Sullivan isn't running. Small favors.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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