Alaska's elections office has allowed a second candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan onto the 2026 Senate primary ballot, setting up a name clash with the sitting U.S. senator Dan Sullivan. The incumbent and his supporters say this is intentional confusion — and they're fighting it in court.

In early June, the sitting Sen. Dan Sullivan said another man with the same name was running against him in the primary. He suggested this was a tactic to trick voters. Alaska's elections division investigated whether the other candidate actually qualified to run, according to Reuters.

A formal complaint was filed asking the elections office to remove the second Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot. But on June 15, the elections office decided he had done everything required to run. Both names will appear on the ballot.

This is where Alaska's election system works differently from most states. Alaska does not hold a separate Republican primary where only Republicans vote. Instead, everyone — Republicans, Democrats, and independents — votes on one ballot with all the candidates. The top four candidates move forward to the general election, where voters rank them by preference.

Because of this system, a second Dan Sullivan could be a real problem. Voters who want to support the incumbent might accidentally vote for the wrong Sullivan. That confusion could hurt the incumbent's vote total without the challenger even trying to win over voters himself — he just has to benefit from the name mix-up.

The ballot will include a note saying the challenger is not officially supported by the Alaska Republican Party. This is normal for Alaska's elections, but it takes on extra meaning here: it tells voters that the party did not back this candidate.

The incumbent's team is unhappy about this outcome and has not ruled out going to court. But Alaska's elections office said it followed the law by allowing anyone who properly filed to appear on the ballot.

Another factor: the incumbent is already facing Democrat Mary Peltola in the general election. She won Alaska's congressional seat in 2022 using the same voting system and has shown she can appeal to voters across party lines. Adding a confusing primary race on top of an already tough general election fight adds complexity to an already competitive race.