Will the Real Dan Sullivan Please Stand Up?
A U.S. Senate race in Alaska has become complicated by the presence of multiple candidates named Dan Sullivan. The article investigates the confusion this causes for voters and the broader implications for ranked-choice voting.
Why it matters
It illustrates the potential for voter confusion in electoral systems and the unique political landscape of Alaska.
A U.S. Senate race has revealed just how many Alaskan men have the same name.
Illustration by Alisa Gao / The Atlantic. Sources: Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc / Getty; Jeffrey Coolidge / Getty. August 30, 2026, 7 AM ET Share Save W hat in the Dan Sullivan is going on in Alaska? Senator Daniel S. Sullivan is running for reelection. Daniel J. Sullivan is one of his challengers. And former Anchorage Mayor Daniel A. Sullivan recently endorsed the senator, while also declaring himself “the OG Dan Sullivan.”
“It’s kind of hilarious,” Daniel K. Sullivan, a 33-year-old diesel mechanic and off-road fabricator from Wasilla, who is not running for Senate, told me.
“I got a chuckle out of it,” Daniel P. Sullivan, a longtime teacher from Nome, who is also not on the ballot, told me.
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