Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) is threatening legal action against another man named Dan Sullivan who filed to run against him — accusing him of being a "ghost candidate" planted by Democrats to split the vote against him.
This comes as former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola is launching her own Senate campaign, with polls suggesting a surprisingly competitive race in a GOP-favoring state that comfortably backed President Donald Trump three times.
“They all orchestrated this on purpose to confuse Alaskans," Sullivan told NOTUS' Igor Bobic. "These guys are purposely trying to trick my constituents to rig, and I don't use that lightly, rig an election in favor of my opponent.”
Sullivan accused the other Sullivan of infringing on his own campaign logo to further confuse voters.
“We're likely going to sue them on a trademark violation, and I'll win in summary judgment,” he told Bobic.
While there is currently no evidence that the second Dan Sullivan has been planted by Democrats, the tactic of one party recruiting "ghost candidates" that share a last or full name with an incumbent from the other party has occurred before.
Most famously, in 2020, Republicans knocked off some Democratic state lawmakers in Florida when candidates with the same last name showed up on the ballot — a scheme that ultimately led to a criminal investigation and prosecutions. And in Washington State in 2024, the GOP unsuccessfully tried to obstruct then-state Attorney General Bob Ferguson from the gubernatorial nomination by recruiting two other people named Bob Ferguson to run in the primary.
