Alaska has a voting system like no other state; Republicans worry it could cost them in November
Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is in the middle of a competitive race as he seeks re-election this year in red-leaning Alaska in a midterm showdown that's one of roughly...
By Fox News · Fox News
Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is in the middle of a competitive race as he seeks re-election this year in red-leaning Alaska in a midterm showdown that's one of roughly a dozen that will determine if the GOP keeps control of the Senate . Working against Sullivan as he runs for a third six-year term in the Senate is not only a rough political climate facing Republicans but also Alaska's unique electoral system , which includes four candidates from an open primary advancing to the general election and ranked-choice voting. Alaska is the only state in the nation to have a "top four" primary system in which candidates advance regardless of party affiliation. And it's one of only two states, along with Maine, to use ranked choice voting for statewide and federal races. Defenders of the system say it gives independent voters more choices, weakens party control and encourages candidates to appeal beyond their base. SEEING DOUBLE: THE SECOND DAN SULLIVAN ADVANCES IN ALASKA'S CRUCIAL SENATE SHOWDOWN Alaska GOP Chair Carmela Warfield has repeatedly referred to the state's electoral system as a "MESS" in social media posts. "It's hurting the Republican Party," veteran GOP strategist Mary Marslender told Fox News Digital. Sullivan is battling former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola. The two candidates combined received over 90% of the primary vote. But Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher and registered Republican whom Marslender and supporters of the senator call "Decoy Dan" is also on the general election ballot. A GOP-aligned group, Americans for Public Trust, claimed that the other Sullivan, who is not related to the senator, was working with Democrats to confuse voters. The Peltola campaign and Daniel J. Sullivan both denied the allegation. The Alaska Division of Elections disqualified him from the ballot, but the decision was overturned first by an Alaska Superior Court judge and later by the state Supreme Court. SIX FORCES THAT COULD HELP REPUBLICANS DEFY HISTORY I…