JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) 鈥� A top Alaska elections official on Monday ruled that a U.S. Senate candidate with the same name and party affiliation as is ineligible to appear on the state鈥檚 August primary ballot.
Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, in a letter sent to , said she concluded that his declaration of candidacy 鈥渨as not filed in order to declare an actual good-faith candidacy for the office of United States Senator, but was instead filed with a purpose to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot鈥檚 fairness or neutrality.鈥�
The challenger can appeal the ruling, she said, while noting ballots are due to be printed June 28.
A text message seeking comment from Sullivan, the challenger, was not immediately returned. He previously said he anticipated making a decision on whether to pursue an appeal by early this week.
In a social media post Sunday, he said he 鈥渕et the qualification and I entered this race because I am unhappy with the 12 year record of the current Senator and I feel we need a change. It鈥檚 that simple.鈥�
It鈥檚 been a whirlwind chain of events in one of the nation鈥檚 , one both parties consider crucial to controlling the chamber.
The kerfuffle was set off by the challenger Sullivan filing days before the June 1 candidate deadline. Sen. Sullivan and Republicans called him a 鈥渟ham鈥� candidate and alleged he was working with Democrats to boost Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola鈥檚 chances in the race. Both the challenger Sullivan and Peltola鈥檚 campaign have denied the allegation.
Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom a week ago announced into the challenger Sullivan鈥檚 run, citing 鈥渃redible allegations鈥� that he declared his candidacy 鈥渋n coordination with another candidate and campaign鈥� with an intent to confuse and 鈥渕anipulate鈥� voters. The announcement followed a letter that had been sent to her and Beecher by an attorney with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, outlining those claims.
Later, two complaints seeking to disqualify the challenger were filed by Alaska Republican Party Chair Carmela Warfield.
Sullivan, a 69-year-old retired teacher from the small, southeast Alaska fishing community of Petersburg, has said he鈥檚 done nothing wrong and insisted that Dahlstrom lacked a legal basis to exclude him from the ballot. He said in a recent interview he has been weighing a run for years and called sharing a name with Sullivan a 鈥渕atter of fate.鈥�
鈥淭he Lieutenant Governor鈥檚 job is to oversee elections fairly and impartially,鈥� he said in a statement last week. 鈥淚nstead, her actions create the impression that the state government is being used to protect an incumbent senator from facing competition at the ballot box.鈥�
In her letter, the election director did not mention finding any evidence of alleged coordination with Peltola or Democratic Party officials. But she outlined details she said led her to conclude that the challenger is ineligible.
They include that he had registered to vote as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and in conjunction with his candidacy changed his party affiliation to Republican, an affiliation he had not had previously. She also cited similarities between his campaign website and the senator鈥檚 and his work with a consultant whose clients have included some Democrats.
The work on his behalf by the consultant 鈥渋s, in isolation, innocuous.鈥� But she said that, taken with the other details, it 鈥渟uggests a determined and a deliberate attempt to use the similarity of your name to confuse Alaska voters.”
The form candidates fill out asks them how they’d like to be referred to on the ballot 鈥� including any nicknames 鈥� and the party affiliation they want on the ballot. In the earlier interview, the challenger told The Associated Press he was motivated to register with the GOP in part by his late father, whom he described as a 鈥渢rue, compassionate, conservative Republican.鈥�
Sen. Sullivan’s campaign manager, Billy Mackey, lauded the lieutenant governor, who oversees elections in Alaska, as upholding the right to 鈥渁 free and fair election.鈥�
Sen. Sullivan, who is seeking a third term, and Peltola are the highest-profile candidates in the crowded race and the only ones so far to report raising any money.
Democrats have targeted the seat the majority in the chamber.
On Friday, protesters gathered outside the Division of Elections office in Juneau, opposing efforts to remove the challenger Sullivan from the ballot. Among them was Ben Muse of Juneau. He said he felt the issue could have been addressed using middle initials to distinguish between the candidates but had been 鈥渂lown way out of proportion.鈥�
鈥淭his has nothing to do with whether you support this guy as a candidate,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 supporting his right to be on the ballot.鈥�
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