Petersburg's Dan Sullivan challenges Senator Dan Sullivan

Retired fifth-grade teacher Dan Sullivan, a longtime Petersburg resident, has launched a campaign for one of Alaska's two U.S. Senate seats. Who is he trying to replace? Dan Sullivan.

Dan S. Sullivan(R) has served two consecutive terms in the U.S. Senate and is running for reelection. The fall election is viewed nationally as an important race, as Democrats try to regain control of the Senate. Mary Peltola(D) is competing against Sullivan for the seat, as are 15 other candidates.

"We need a Sullivan that stands up for Alaska," his campaign website states.

Dan J. Sullivan has not been impressed by his namesharer's job in office.

"He's been in there for 12 years, and I'm just not seeing the revitalization... when he pops out of his doors and says Alaska's back, Alaska's where it's happening – I don't see it," Dan J. Sullivan said.

Dan J. Sullivan described himself currently as a "fairly active political citizen." He believes that senators should make an effort to listen to the people they represent.

"I call him, I write him, I ask him to stop in town to meet with people, and ... nothing," Dan J. Sullivan said.

His campaign website states that Alaska deserves someone who answers the phone and listens to people.

"For 12 years I've had people associate me with Dan," Dan J. Sullivan said. The challenger Sullivan said people have told him for 12 years "Hey you ever think about running for senator? Wouldn't it be funny if you were the real senator, that'd be great."

"A couple things happened, it was just like: 'I'm mad as hell, I'm not going to take it anymore moment,'" Dan J. Sullivan said.

He said the senator having no comments on President Donald Trump's "slush fund" to compensate the perpetrators of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, and being okay with Trump on the $250 bill were what finally led to his decision to get on the ballot.

"That was just kind of a moment that pushed me over the edge," Dan J. Sullivan said.

When considering running, the challenger Sullivan reached out to local Petersburg friends. He said he got nothing but support, and they inspired him to go for it.

The challenger Sullivan moved to Alaska in 1980, when he registered with the Alaska Independence Party. He remained a member of that party until late 2025, when the party dissolved.

When registering as a candidate, he decided to register as a republican. He credits his father and grandfather, who were both republicans, for the decision.

"They were true compassionate conservatives. They were honorable men," Dan J. Sullivan said. "My dad was one of the most giving, kindest men you could ever see... this is for my dad, my grandpa, and for me. I'm going to run as a Republican, and hope we can get some moderation and some work done."

"Pragmatic Republican Centrist" is the term the challenger Sullivan used to best describe his views. He credited Alaska's other sitting senator, Lisa Murkowski(R), as someone he has respect for and also views as a pragmatist.

"I voted for Republicans, Democrats, probably a couple other in there in between," Dan J. Sullivan said. "I look for people who I think are going to solve some problems."

Senator Sullivan has been outspokenly upset since the challenger Sullivan announced his campaign. "He's purposely trying to trick my constituents to rig the election for Peltola," he said.

The challenger Sullivan said he has had no contact with Peltola's campaign.

"I have not spoken to Mary. I wouldn't even know who to speak to," Dan J. Sullivan said.

Peltola's campaign also denied having any affiliation with either Sullivan.

"This blatant attempt to confuse and disenfranchise Alaskans undermines confidence in our elections, and if allowed to stand, will deny voters the honest choice they deserve," Senator Sullivan's spokesperson Nate Adams said.

The challenger Sullivan, responding to the claim that his running is a "trick," referred to his time as a fifth-grade history teacher, where he taught the formation of government.

"Your responsibility as a citizen is to understand, so when you go into the voting booth, you know what you're doing," Dan J. Sullivan said. "People can read a voter information pamphlet and maybe listen to the news here and there and figure out which one is which."

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) sent a letter to Alaska election officials on Monday, June 1, expressing concerns about challenger Sullivan's running. It asks that his name be removed from the primary ballot.

"I have every right to stand up and do this," Dan J. Sullivan said. "It's my name, my grandfather's name: Dan Sullivan. My dad's name: Dan Sullivan."

The NRSC stated that the confusion is an attempt to rig the election.

"It is clear from all the evidence that Sham Candidate Sullivan is taking these actions to proactively confuse Alaskan voters and rig the voting system to the obvious benefit of Democrat Candidate Peltola's campaign," NRSC lawyer Blake Murphy said in his letter.

The letter lists donation records from challenger Sullivan's past to democratic candidates, totaling $650 from 2010 to 2025. Included was $100 to Mary Peltola in 2022, and another $30 to her in 2024.

"I'm a moderate on both ends of things... I look for people that I think are going to solve some problems, get things done, I think they're going to work with people and seem like they're caring, and that's why I've given money," Dan J. Sullivan said.

There was no record of money being sent to the challenger Sullivan, and he claims he has only spent a couple of hundred dollars on his own campaign overall.

"I would like to do this on a shoestring, I don't want to have to solicit tons of money," Dan J. Sullivan said.

He recognized that his name gives him notoriety and an opportunity that he would not have as a small spending candidate.

Since the announcement, major news outlets have given the story nationwide coverage. The challenger Sullivan is not surprised but hasn't been paying it much attention.

"I took a news break," he said. "[My family] was sending a few memes that were funny, that was good."

As far as the threats of lawsuits and the attacks from Senator Sullivan's campaign and supporters, challenger Sullivan just smiles and shrugs.

"If a sitting senator with sitting ties to the military industrial complex and the oil industry, as well as own family wealth is going to attack me ... it's David and Goliath," Dan J Sullivan said.

Political strategist Amber Lee helped with the challenger Sullivan's press release and website. She has been linked, according to Murphy's letter, to a PAC that supported Peltola.

"The facts surrounding this matter, including metadata from the press release announcing Mr. Sullivan's candidacy that indicates you served as the document author, demonstrate that Mr. Sullivan coordinated his candidacy with Mary Peltola and her allies," Murphy said in a letter to Lee.

Murphy also noted the potential of an upcoming lawsuit and asked that Lee and the challenger Sullivan maintain records of their communications.

The challenger Sullivan explained that he simply found Lee's company with a Google search.

"I Googled looking for political consultants," Dan J. Sullivan said. "In her bio it said that she writes middle school literature. I thought: well, she'd be interesting to talk to."

Murphy also claimed that the website Lee created for the challenger Sullivan was overly similar to the senator's.

"The Alaska Flag's his trademark? Good for him," Dan J. Sullivan said with reference to both websites using the flag and the Dan Sullivan name.

The name redundancy continues a theme in Alaska politics that has been seen before. When Senator Sullivan ran for his first term in 2014, a different Dan Sullivan, then Mayor of Anchorage, was on the same ballot – running for lieutenant governor of Alaska.

The open primary election for the Senate will take place on August 18. The top four candidates receiving the most votes will advance to the general election on November 3.

Reflecting on what happens next, Dan J Sullivan said: "It's a win-win. If he wins I ... go fishing, if I win... we keep going."