An Anchorage Superior Court judge ruled on Friday that Dan J. Sullivan can stay on the Aug. 18 primary ballot in the U.S. Senate race, a decision that keeps the same-name challenger in the contest for now and sends the fight toward the state Supreme Court on a tight clock.
The ruling matters because ballots must be printed by Tuesday noon, leaving little room for any further court action before the election machinery moves ahead. Dan J. Sullivan, 70, a retired teacher from Petersburg, had been rejected earlier this month by the Alaska Division of Elections after complaints from the Alaska Republican Party and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Judge Thomas Matthews said the division’s decision to exclude Sullivan rested on a good-faith requirement that does not appear in the U.S. Constitution, Alaska Statutes or the division’s own regulations. He also rejected the state’s claim that Sullivan was trying to confuse voters by running as a Republican against Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is seeking a third term.
That finding goes to the center of the dispute. State officials said Sullivan was attempting to mislead voters by sharing the senator’s name, but Matthews said the claim was not supported by a preponderance of evidence. Jeffrey Robinson argued for Sullivan that he met all constitutional qualifications to run, while Rachel Witty asked for a rapid decision so the case could move quickly to the Alaska Supreme Court.
Matthews agreed this week to expedite the case because of what he called great public interest, and attorneys from both sides presented arguments on Thursday in a hearing live-streamed on Zoom. He said the lawyers would likely spend the weekend preparing for arguments before the state high court, which now faces a narrow window to decide whether to uphold or reverse the ruling before ballots are printed.
The outcome matters beyond one ballot line. Alaska’s race could help determine control of the U.S. Senate in the November elections, and the question now is whether the same-name challenge survives long enough to appear before voters on the primary ballot or is removed again in the final hours before printing.
