{"id":2621236,"date":"2026-06-29T21:03:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T01:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alaska-supreme-court-allows-second-dan-sullivan-to-appear-on-ballot\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:04:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T01:04:48","slug":"alaska-supreme-court-allows-second-dan-sullivan-to-appear-on-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alaska-supreme-court-allows-second-dan-sullivan-to-appear-on-ballot\/","title":{"rendered":"Alaska Supreme Court allows second Dan Sullivan to appear on ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Falaska-supreme-court-allows-second-dan-sullivan-to-appear-on-ballot%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2621236&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Alaska Supreme Court ruled that a second candidate named Dan Sullivan must be allowed to appear on the U.S. Senate ballot, overturning the state&#8217;s earlier effort to disqualify him. The court&#8217;s decision supports the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-supreme-court-backs-teacher-ousted-for-rejecting-trans-policies\/\" title=\"Virginia Supreme Court Backs Teacher Ousted for Rejecting Trans Policies\">lower court&#8217;<\/a>s ruling that sullivan, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/public-school-advocate-attacks-charter-private-schools-compares-them-to-terrorist-training-centers\/\" title=\"Public School Advocate Attacks Charter, Private Schools, Compares Them To Terrorist Training Centers\">retired teacher<\/a>, shoudl be reinstated for the upcoming primary. The case centered on concerns that Sullivan&#8217;s name, sharing the same name as the incumbent senator, could mislead voters. The state Division of Elections had removed the challenger, citing bad faith and potential voter confusion, but the Supreme court directed officials to determine how Sullivan&#8217;s name should appear on the ballot within legal guidelines. The ruling is significant for the potential to influence control of the Senate in the midterm elections, with both sides debating the impact of having two candidates with the same name. The court did not decide on the exact candidate listing, leaving questions about whether to include middle initials or other identifiers. The case drew support from multiple Republican states and advocates emphasizing election integrity, as officials prepare ballot layouts in a limited timeframe ahead of the elections.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/courts\/\">Alaska Supreme Court<\/a> ruled Monday that a second candidate named Dan Sullivan must be allowed to appear on the ballot in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/alaska\/\">Alaska<\/a>\u2019s U.S. Senate race, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >rejecting state election officials\u2019 effort<\/a> to disqualify him over concerns his candidacy was intended to confuse voters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decision carries national implications as <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/appellate-records.courts.alaska.gov\/CMSPublic\/Case\/Docket?q=w6sobc\/DATc4vP2vv76aFg==%27\">Republicans<\/a> defend a narrow Senate majority, and Alaska is expected to be among the handful of races that could determine control of the chamber. Republicans, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have argued the second Dan Sullivan could siphon votes from incumbent Republican Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dan-sullivan\/\">Dan Sullivan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4629855\/alaska-supreme-court-second-dan-sullivan-ballot\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Alaska Supreme Court allows second Dan Sullivan to appear on ballot<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4629572\/texas-senate-ken-paxton-iceland-mistress\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Texas Democrats rip Paxton after video shows him flying to Iceland ahead of July 4<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4629125\/dnc-omit-graham-platner-photo-democratic-senate-nominees\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>DNC leaves Graham Platner off photo of Democratic nominees in Senate races<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">FILE \u2013 Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, June 30, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/06\/localimages\/AP26153768237147_29df4a.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, June 30, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/appellate-records.courts.alaska.gov\/CMSPublic\/Case\/Docket?q=w6sobc\/DATc4vP2vv76aFg==%27\">brief order<\/a> issued hours after oral arguments, the court affirmed a lower court ruling requiring retired Petersburg teacher Dan J. Sullivan to be restored to the August primary ballot.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The justices also directed the Division of Elections to determine how the challenger should appear on the ballot \u201cwithin the confines of existing Alaska ballot design law.\u201d Chief Justice Susan Carney said a fuller opinion will follow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Division of Elections removed the challenger from the ballot earlier this month after concluding he filed in bad faith to mislead voters by sharing the incumbent\u2019s name and party affiliation. On Friday, Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews ruled the division had \u201cabused its discretion,\u201d finding its decision was not based on the constitutional qualifications for serving in the Senate or Alaska election law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During Monday\u2019s arguments, several justices questioned why the division chose what Carney called \u201cthe most extreme remedy possible\u201d instead of distinguishing the candidates by their middle initials or other identifiers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Representing the state, attorney Christopher Murray argued officials were justified because the challenger initially identified himself as \u201cDan S. Sullivan\u201d before correcting his middle initial.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">Dan Sullivan, who has filed to run for U.S. Senate in Alaska, poses for a photo Friday, June 26, 2026, in Petersburg, Alaska. (AP Photo\/Katie Holmlund)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/06\/localimages\/AP26177852024695_042e49.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dan Sullivan, who has filed to run for U.S. Senate in Alaska, poses for a photo Friday, June 26, 2026, in Petersburg, Alaska. (AP Photo\/Katie Holmlund)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s not an innocent mistake, or random mistake,\u201d Murray told the court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The state Supreme Court did not decide how the two candidates will be listed. The division has argued middle initials alone would still confuse voters and proposed identifying the challenger as \u201cSullivan, Daniel James Jr. (Nonpartisan),\u201d a change his attorney, Jeffrey Robinson, argued exceeds the state\u2019s legal authority.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alaska matters greatly for determining whether Republicans maintain or lose control of the Senate in the midterm elections. As Democrats seek to win back control of the Senate, they have sunk millions of dollars into Democratic challenger <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mary-peltola\/\">Mary Peltola<\/a>, while Republicans see the prospects of a second candidate with the same name as the incumbent as a spoiler for the sitting Republican senator.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The case also drew friend-of-the-court briefs from 15 Republican-led states as well as the conservative Honest Elections Project, which argued the dispute was about protecting \u201cthe integrity, reliability, fairness, and neutrality of the ballot itself, not any candidate\u2019s fitness to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Division of Elections has said it must begin preparing ballots Tuesday, leaving officials little time to decide how the second Dan Sullivan\u2019s name will appear.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4627842\/judge-dan-sullivan-appear-alaska-primary-ballot\/\">JUDGE RULES DAN SULLIVAN CAN APPEAR ON ALASKA PRIMARY BALLOT AGAINST SEN. DAN SULLIVAN<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jason Snead, executive director of HEP, argued the decision is allowing \u201c\u2018Decoy Dan\u2019s\u2019 deception campaign\u201d to unfold across the state, though he said the silver lining is that the court left room for state officials to \u201cclearly mark this imposter candidate in a way that distinguishes him from the sitting senator whose supporters he seems intent on deceiving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat is the bare minimum the integrity of our elections demands, and I applaud Alaska election officials for taking this issue incredibly seriously,\u201d Snead added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alaska Supreme Court Allows Second Dan Sullivan on Ballot<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2621237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-collage-krdyb49z0-1782777843511-e1782780263714.jpg?1782763548&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[52920,59361,3728,5894,32275],"class_list":["post-2621236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-alaska-2","tag-dan-sullivan","tag-election","tag-politics","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-collage-krdyb49z0-1782777843511-e1782780263714.jpg?1782763548&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2621236"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2621240,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621236\/revisions\/2621240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2621237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2621236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2621236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2621236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}