Only one Dan Sullivan can run in Alaska's primary election, official says

Only one Dan Sullivan can run in Alaska's primary election, official says12 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMax MatzaandNardine SaadGetty ImagesSenator Dan S Sullivan told reporters earlier this month that the other Dan Sullivan is "purposely trying to trick my constituents to rig the election" for the Democrat candidate How many Dan Sullivans are allowed to run in a Senate race in Alaska? According to the state's election authority, just one.Alaska's elections director has deemed retired schoolteacher Dan J Sullivan - who has the same name and party affiliation as incumbent Senator Dan S Sullivan - ineligible to appear on the state's primary ballot in August. She concluded that his declaration of candidacy was designed "to confuse or mislead" voters, compromising the ballot's fairness. He has 30 days to appeal the decision. A probe began when the Republican senator accused his Democratic opponent of rigging the race, as Democrats seek a majority in the US Senate in the November midterm elections.Division of Elections director Carol Beecher posted a letter on the matter on Monday, determining that his declaration of candidacy was "not filed in order to declare an actual good-faith candidacy" for the office. She noted that the proposed challenger has never registered to vote under the name Dan Sullivan, had never before been affiliated with the Republican party, styled his campaign materials after the senator and hired a political consultant who had long supported Democratic candidates. She did not mention finding any evidence of alleged coordination between Dan J Sullivan and Democratic Party officials or Democratic candidate Mary Peltola. In a statement to the BBC, Senator Sullivan's campaign praised the decision and thanked the state's lieutenant governor for launching the probe to uphold Alaskans' right to a free and fair election "without a sham candidate".Speaking to rep...