Drama Behind 2 Dan Sullivans In Alaska’s Senate Race Becomes Major Legal Dispute, But This Ain’t New

Ok, even I can admit that the Tale of Two Dans — the debacle involving two Republicans named Dan Sullivan, both running for a U.S. Senate seat to represent Alaska — has become more of a saga than I expected, but it’s still much ado about nothing.

See, like many people, I figured Sen. Dan Sullivan, the Republican incumbent, was simply being trolled by Dan J. Sullivan,  a retired teacher from the island community of Petersburg, but, as we reported on Thursday, an investigation published by The New York Times strongly indicates  Dan number 2 was actually a plant by the campaign of Dan number 1‘s Democratic opponent, Rep. Mary Peltola, who has denied any involvement in the so-called plot.

So, now, it’s become a whole Dan mess.

Alaska’s Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy responded to the Times story by ordering an investigation into whether Peltola’s campaign for Senate should face criminal charges or civil penalties for allegedly scouring the state, looking for white guys named Dan Sullivan to confuse Alaskan voters. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit seeking to delay certification of the Senate race, but only if the incumbent loses by a margin attributable to the alleged Peltola plot; according to CNBC, a federal judge is now fast-tracking motions by the campaign to dismiss the DOJ’s suit.

“The U.S. Constitution leaves the regulation of federal elections exclusively to the States and to Congress, and DOJ has no statutory authority to bring this case,” the motion argues.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump — who seems to be keenly aware that if Republicans lose control of Congress come the midterms, his GOP sycophant-provided quasi-dictatorship is over — has been losing whatever is left of his mind over the race.

In a recent social media post, Trump claimed, “Democrats in Alaska illegally searched for, and recruited, a man named Dan Sullivan to run against our distinguished Republican Senator, Dan Sullivan, in order to defraud, confuse, and obfuscate the Election, thereby taking votes away from the REAL Senator, Dan Sullivan.”

But, even if the Times story is true, was it illegal? Was it fraud? Was it even uncommon?

The answer to all of the above is no.

See, the Times did that annoying thing that legacy media outlets do, where they sensationalize a thing by making it seem like it’s something egregious and unprecedented, when actually it’s precedented AF.

In fact, the Times report even acknowledged, “Ballot-stacking tactics are common in politics and generally considered legal — and have been employed by both parties in Alaska.” But then it went on to say, “But this operation, which has not been reported before, reveals the lengths to which Democrats went to seek advantage in a Senate race that could determine control of the chamber.”

So, which is it? Did Democrats do something both parties have done in the past, even in Alaska, or did Alaska Democrats go to great “lengths” to gain an advantage?

Yeah — it’s definitely the former.

From CNN:

In 2024, Washington’s Democratic state Attorney General Bob Ferguson was joined in the gubernatorial primary race by two other Democratic hopefuls with the same name.

Was it a coincidence? More like an age-old election trick that’s come up again in this year’s tightly contested Alaska U.S. Senate race.

In Washington two years ago, a Republican activist had paid the other two Bob Fergusons to run in the hopes that their names on the ballot would confuse voters — an effort to weaken the attorney general’s candidacy. But the decoys ultimately dropped out after just a few days when the first Bob Ferguson, who went on to be elected governor, threatened legal action and publicly derided their candidacy as an “attack on our democracy.”

So, not only has this been done before, but it has been done as recently as two years ago by Republicans. Just because when they tried it in 2024, the ops punked out at the threat of legal action doesn’t mean this isn’t still simply a “it’s all fun until the rabbit has the gun” kind of situation.

Thomas Kahn, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University, told CNN that ballot stacking is “a time-honored tradition,” and while he said it’s “not a good practice,” the truth is “if trying to confuse voters was a crime, then every politician would be in jail.”

CNN also pointed out other ballot-stacking instances going back nearly a century, including the 1930 Nebraska Republican U.S. Senate primary, when incumbent George W. Norris almost dropped out because another George W. Norris, a grocery clerk, was on the same ballot.

So, yeah, this whole thing might be entertaining, but it’s no scandal. If anything, it’s just a result of MAGA Republicans turning U.S. politics into a circus of perpetual absurdity, and Democrats finally deciding to stoop to their level.

Anyway, get out and vote, y’all.

SEE ALSO:

Will Alaska’s Real Dan Sullivan Please Stand Up? [Op-Ed]

Trump Sues Alaska To Stop A Senate Election If His Guy Loses

2 Dan Sullivans, 1 Senate Seat, An Alleged Democratic Plot To Flip Congress

JD Vance Alaska Lawsuit Defense Is About Saving GOP Congressional Majority