Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan J. Sullivan is staying in the race. The Petersburg resident finished third in August’s primary election, with just 2.5% of the vote statewide. He’s come under intense scrutiny because he shares a party affiliation and a first and last name with incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, who is seeking reelection.
The state Division of Elections disqualified Petersburg Sullivan from the ballot but the decision was overturned by the Alaska Supreme Court in June.
The incumbent senator finished second in the primary with 41.4% of the vote. Democratic candidate Mary Peltola finished first in the primary with 49.5% of the vote.
Fourth-place finisher David Leslie, a Democratic candidate running to the left of Peltola, withdrew from the race on Aug. 31, putting fifth-place finisher Gerald Heikes, a Republican running to the right of Dan S. Sullivan, on the ballot for November with just 1.1% of the vote.
The top four vote-getters from the primary advance to the general election.
Dan J. Sullivan and Peltola have denied working together, but Dan S. Sullivan has repeatedly accused Dan J. Sullivan of running a “sham” campaign intended to confuse voters.
But preliminary results indicated little confusion among Alaska voters — most of Dan J. Sullivan’s votes came from Democratic-leaning districts.
In an emailed statement, Dan J. Sullivan said, “in the three months that I have been in this campaign, I have encountered obstacles that no other candidate in any of the other races has faced. Every time I took one step forward, roadblocks put me three steps back. … But with the support of family, friends and donors, I have persevered to this point.”
Dan J. Sullivan has previously said he was motivated by unhappiness with Sen. Dan Sullivan’s performance in office, and he reiterated that in his Aug. 31 statement.
Sen. Sullivan has been a vocal supporter of America’s war with Iran, something that Dan J. Sullivan calls “ill-conceived.”
The Petersburg resident noted that Alaska ranks poorly in national ratings of childhood well-being and business climate.
Under Alaska’s open primary system, all candidates for an office run against each other in the primary election. The top four candidates, regardless of political party, advance to the general election in November. There, voters rank the candidates in order of preference.
If a candidate has more than 50% of the first-preference votes, they win. If no candidate reaches that mark, the candidate with the fewest top rankings is eliminated, and any votes for them are redistributed to their voters’ second choices.
The process continues until only two candidates are left, and the person with the most votes wins.
The Alaska Beacon is an independent, donor-funded news organization, online at Alaskabeacon.com.
