Alaska Republicans scramble to educate voters on suspected Dem plant as 'ballot fatigue' threatens race
In addition to fending off a Democratic challenger, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, is wrestling against confusion caused by a candidate who shares his name — Dan J. Sullivan Jr., an...
By Fox News · Fox News
In addition to fending off a Democratic challenger, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, is wrestling against confusion caused by a candidate who shares his name — Dan J. Sullivan Jr., an independent — and a shrinking window to clear it up. Alaska state Sen. James Kaufman, a Republican, said he personally remains worried about conflation between the two. "I’ve had at least one person say they had to slow down to make sure they didn’t make a mistake. And I can only imagine people who are less engaged in politics — I think it can be confusing," Kaufman said. Results on Tuesday seem to confirm his hunch. Sullivan Jr.’s campaign, which has focused on his background as a logger, has meaningfully splintered support from the incumbent Republican candidate in the primary — but not enough to create ambiguity about who the frontrunner was in the primary. Now, the question becomes whether the Sullivan look-alike will have a proportional impact in November, given Alaska’s ranked choice voting system, a larger pool of voters and more time for Republicans to warn voters about the dueling Sullivans. MORNING GLORY: ALASKA’S 'REAL' SENATOR DAN SULLIVAN STOOD UP OVER CHALLENGER Former congresswoman Mary Peltola convincingly led the field on Tuesday, beating out Sen. Sullivan by a 5.4% lead. Notably, the votes that went to Sullivan Jr. wouldn’t have closed the gap entirely had they been cast for the senator, having received just 2.3%. Even so, Randy Ruedrich, former Republican Party chairman from 2000-2013, believes the confusion is evident. As an Alaska resident, he pointed out that Alaska’s lone congressman, Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, had received as much support in his own primary as the top non-Democrats vying for the Senate seat: Sen. Sullivan, Sullivan Jr. and Gerald Heikes, a veteran. "Nick Begich, without all this entertainment, has 60,061 votes. Nick Begich has slightly less Republican votes than these three Republicans together," Ruedrich said. "There is some obvious crossover." R…