This Senate Race Just Got VERY Strange

Summary

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Bulwark Takes — “This Senate Race Just Got VERY Strange”

Podcast: Bulwark Takes
Episode Air Date: May 31, 2026
Hosts: Will Sommer, featuring Kathryn Rampel (Author of the Receipts newsletter)
Episode Focus: The bizarre double Dan Sullivan situation in the Alaska Senate race and implications for the race, voters, and party maneuvering.

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Overview

This episode dives into an unusual electoral twist emerging in Alaska’s pivotal 2026 Senate race: two Republican candidates both named Dan Sullivan are running for the same seat. Will Sommer and Kathryn Rampel unpack how this name confusion may be a political dirty trick, explore the potential effects on voter decision-making amidst Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, and consider whether the move will have any real impact—or simply provides ammunition for grievances and campaign comedy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Double Dan Sullivans: The Oddball Setup

• Introduction of the Candidates (00:57 – 01:28)
  • Two separate men named Dan Sullivan have filed as Republican candidates for Alaska’s U.S. Senate seat—a situation aptly described by Will as "both kind of like old white guys with graying, thinning hair."
  • Incumbent: Dan Sullivan (sitting Senator)
  • Challenger: Another Dan Sullivan, previously little-known, entering under mysterious circumstances

2. Allegations of Dirty Tricks and Political Mischief

• Suspicion from the GOP (01:28 – 03:07)
  • The Republican National Senatorial Committee (NRSC) claims the opposing Democrats are orchestrating this name double to "trick Alaskans and buy a seat." (NRSC statement via Anchorage Daily News)
  • The Peltola (D) campaign denies involvement—but, as Kathryn puts it, "it does look a little convenient... for Peltola."
• Classic Political Manipulation? (03:20 – 04:24)
  • Will describes the tactic as "the classic dirty trick," reminiscent of past election ‘mischief’ attempts, but notes it is executed with more ease in this case due to the prevalence of the “Dan Sullivan” name in Alaska.

3. The Alaska Landscape: How Many Dan Sullivans?

• Name Prevalence (04:24 – 04:43)
  • Kathryn notes there are "at least nine Dan Sullivans who are registered [to vote] across the state of Alaska," stoking speculation about further confusion or future candidates.
• AI Confusion and Past Precedent (04:43 – 06:06)
  • Will jokes, "his picture looks pretty AI-generated," likening the challenger Dan Sullivan to an internet catfish.
  • There have been double Dan Sullivan situations before—in 2016, two with that name appeared on the same ballot for different offices.

4. Who Is the Challenger Dan Sullivan?

• Possible Backstory & Political Affiliation (06:06 – 09:38)
  • This new challenger matches the description of a "fifth grade teacher in Petersburg" who appeared in decade-old reporting about frequent name mix-ups and expressed non-Republican leanings.
  • Kathryn is wary: "Maybe this is a guy who's pretending to be a Republican because he has the same name."
• Reported Connections to Democratic Strategists (06:26 – 09:08)
  • Materials for the new Dan Sullivan’s campaign reference an Amber Lee, a political operative affiliated with Peltola, suggesting potential backchannel involvement, though Lee is not commenting.

Notable Quote

“He refers to the incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan as Ohio Dan because I guess he was born and raised in Ohio. So that's, that's the differentiation… not a middle initial or anything else.”
— Kathryn Rampel (05:21)

5. The Impact of Name Confusion on the Race

• Voters’ Potential Confusion (09:38 – 11:56)
  • Alaskans are perhaps more acclimated to the name overlap but confusion at the ballot box remains a risk, especially given similar ages and looks.
  • The quirky “real Dan Sullivan please stand up” and “Dr. Seussy” rhetoric is built into the challenger’s messaging to maximize confusion.
• Ranked Choice Voting as a Safeguard (10:19 – 12:48)
  • Ranked choice instant-runoff voting means voters can rank both Dan Sullivans in any order—graphic confusion is less likely to tip the race unless voters mistakenly rank the challenger first.
  • Both hosts and GOP strategists cited suggest the potential for impact is muted by the voting system.

Notable Quote

“If you want to vote for Dan Sullivan the incumbent, and let's say you're confused for whatever reason, you can just say Dan Sullivan. Dan Sullivan. Right. And then they go to the runoff and it’s all good.”
— Will Sommer (11:07)

6. Alaska’s Quirks & Broader Implications

• Unique Electoral History (12:02 – 13:33)
  • Referencing Lisa Murkowski's write-in win, hosts agree Alaska voters can be surprisingly savvy about ballot oddities.
  • Kathryn ponders whether this kind of name-doppelganger dirty trick would work elsewhere—or with a different type of ballot design.
• Speculation on Motivations and Fallout (13:33 – 14:45)
  • Will muses the effort may come from a “rogue strategist” rather than the official Democratic campaign.
  • Kathryn suggests Republicans could use the gambit for “grievance” talking points even if it fails, and wonders if the challenger could leverage newfound name recognition into a real political future.

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Most Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Dr. Seuss / "Who's on First?" Confusion

  "Will the real Dan Sullivan please stand up… which Dan Sullivan is on first or, you know, shortstop?"
  — Kathryn Rampel (05:21)

• Discussion of Alaska Voter Savvy

  “Alaska voters definitely seem very sophisticated as voter, as the voter base goes, given that Murkowski won via a write in campaign. Like, that's insane… impressive as well in retrospect.”
  — Kathryn Rampel (12:48)

• Classic Political Mischief

  “Who doesn’t love some campaign mischief, some tricks, some rat effing, as they used to say back in the Nixon administration, right?”
  — Will Sommer (14:45)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:57 — Will Sommer introduces the Alaska Senate race “two Dan Sullivans” scenario with Kathryn Rampel.
• 01:28 — Recap of the NRSC statement alleging dirty tricks.
• 04:24 — Number of Dan Sullivans registered in Alaska—potential for further confusion.
• 05:21 — Kathryn and Will’s Dr. Seuss/“Who’s on First” analogy.
• 06:24 — Analysis of campaign filings, possible Democratic strategist involvement.
• 10:19 — First deep dive into ranked choice voting’s impact on the confusion.
• 12:48 — Discussion on Alaska voter sophistication and precedent for handling ballot oddities.
• 13:33 — Will’s speculation on the “rogue strategist” theory and campaign motivations.
• 14:45 — Will's summary and close: “Who doesn’t love some campaign mischief…”

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Tone & Style

The episode blends sharp political analysis, humor, and skepticism. Will and Kathryn trade wry commentary, lean into the absurdity of the name confusion, but ultimately provide a nuanced assessment of how Alaska’s unique electoral setup may blunt any intended advantage.

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Summary Takeaway:
Alaska’s already-competitive Senate race got a “very strange” twist with two GOP Dan Sullivans on the ballot, raising suspicions of a political trick to confuse voters—but Alaska’s unique ranked-choice voting system and a savvy electorate may blunt the impact. The episode highlights the creativity (and sometimes desperation) of campaign tactics, and leaves listeners watching for further twists in what is sure to be one of 2026’s most closely watched races.

Transcript

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[Will Sommer]

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[Will Sommer]

What's up guys? This is Will Sommer at the Bulwark here today with Kathryn Rampel, the author of our Receipts newsletter, to talk about something intriguing, some sort of perhaps dirty tricks, some mischief going on in the Alaska Senate race. Catherine, what is happening?

[Kathryn Rampel]

Okay, so we have a photo of two men. Do you know the difference between these two men?

[Will Sommer]

They're both kind of like old white guys with graying, thinning hair. I would say if I was playing Guess who? That's how I would make describe them

[Kathryn Rampel]

if you were playing Guess who. You might also add that they are both named Dan Sullivan and they are both running for Senate in Alaska as Republicans. The guy on the left is the sitting senator from Alaska, Dan Sullivan. The guy on the right is a challenger for that seat. Also Dan Sullivan, again, both running as Republicans in what is potentially a very flippable seat in the Senate. Mary Pe is the Democratic candidate who will be also running in this election in it's basically a jungle election where they all run together. And there is some questioning of how this new Dan Sullivan entered the race and what his deal is. So the Republicans are. The Republican Party is suggesting, as you point, as you put it like that there are some dirty tricks going on. Like where did this Dan Sullivan come from? Because he is again, a relatively new entrant. He is one of more than a dozen U.S. senate candidates that have entered or have filed the necessary paperwork to appear on the August 18 primary ballot in Alaska, according to the Anchorage Daily News. And so The Republicans say it's a trick. The National Republican Senatorial Committee gave a statement to the Anchorage Daily News National Republican Senatorial Committee statement says quote, Mary Peltola and Chuck Schumer know that they can't beat Senator Sullivan on his record. So they're resorting to deceitful political maneuvers that attempt to trick Alaskans and buy a seat, unquote. The Peltola campaign denies that it has any involvement here. But it does look a little convenient I would say for Peltola. What do you make of it?

[Will Sommer]

Yeah, I mean, so as you said, I mean this is a very high stakes Senate race. This is a sort of a battleground that's going to decide, help decide Democrats win the Senate in all likelihood. And then suddenly you have this guy, second Dan Sullivan, let's say at the end of last week he pops up and he says I'm the new Dan Sullivan or I'm the Dan Sullivan you should really vote for. As you said, this is all being announced by this woman who's a Democratic strategist and I think we'll get to her backstory. But basically this is like the er, dirty trick, right? Is finding. Or maybe that's prejudicial. It strikes me as a classic dirty trick. Or it's like the election mischief is finding a guy with the same name as the incumbent or the other candidate, putting him on the ballot. And the good news for Democrats is, I mean look, sometimes you have to look really far to find a guy with the same name. But in this case Dan Sullivan, I'm sure there's plenty of them in Alaska and they just had to find one Democrat run him. I think it's interesting. I mean, I think as you said, I mean Republicans are furious about it and obviously this is an important race.

[Kathryn Rampel]

Yeah. According to local reporting there are at least nine Dan Sullivans who are registered to across the state of Alaska which has a population of about 740,000 people. So maybe we are yet to see more Dan Sullivan's enter the race. That would be quite interesting. Please. All of the Dan Sullivan's out there

[Will Sommer]

and let's make clear, there was a Dan Sullivan who ran in 2016 who I think was the mayor of Anchorage, he ran for Senate. This is a different guy. This is a guy who has come out of nowhere. He looks, to be frank, I don't think it is. His picture looks pretty AI generated, right. I mean it has like this looks like I would be on like the subreddit. Like is this AI or not? It's like my aunt is in this catfish relationship with this Alaskan fisherman fellow. And as you said, I mean, this guy, no one knows this guy's deal at all. And the thing I wanted to flag here is in their announcement, they're really playing into the name confusion. It's kind of like a Dr. Seuss thing because they're saying this Dan Sullivan will take on the bad Dan Sullivan and he'll out Sullivan him and so on and so forth.

[Kathryn Rampel]

Yeah, I mean, yes, sort of Dr. Seussy. The whole thing is also sort of like who's on first? Ish. Confus Dan Sullivan. Will the real Dan Sullivan please stand up and is which Dan Sullivan is on first or, you know, shortstop or whatever. Anyway, yeah. The statement that we, that we found from the Anchorage Daily News from Dan Sullivan to Dan Sullivan from Petersburg, Alaska was quote, I know firsthand the challenges everyday Alaskans face and I know that Ohio Dan doesn't get it. He was born on third base and thinks he hit a home run. It is time for Alaska to elect a Sullivan that's on their side. And he refers to the incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan as Ohio Dan because I guess he was born and raised in Ohio. So that's, that's the differentiation. It's not a middle initial or anything else. It's or the brand of the fleece that they're wearing in those video in the photos we had before, but it's where they came from. You know, I will say that there are a couple of other things that are a little bit suspicious about this run. According to local reporting are no FEC filings for the new Dan Sullivan and there are some conflicting names for the political action committee. In like some of the campaign materials, there is metadata including someone by the name of Amber Lee who has backed Pelo again the Democratic candidate in the past. In. In some of the materials that have been distributed, the Anchorage Daily News says the metadata for the press release on Petersburg Sullivan, that's how they refer to him Petersburg Sullivan. His entry to the race indicated it was written by someone by the name of Amber Lee. Amber Lee, an Alaskan political strat, Alaska political strategist, has worked for a variety of campaigns in recent years and backed Peltola in the past. Asked if she was involved in Petersburg Sullivan's apparent entry into the Senate race, Lee said in a text message that she is not commenting. Part of the reason though, I think that this Dan Sullivan, this new Dan Sullivan, Dan Sullivan to Petersburg's Dan Sullivan, whatever you want to call him, that he is Real he is not a figment of AI is that as you pointed out there was a previous campaign in which there were multiple Dan Sullivan's on the ballot, although I think they were for different offices on the same ballot. The Dan Sullivan who is now the Senator was running for Senate and then the Dan Sullivan who was the mayor of Anchorage was running for Lieutenant Governor and they were both on the ballot maybe I think and there was a news coverage of that at the time at how crazy it was that there were multiple Dan Sullivan's on the ballot. How convenient. Like they can you know, get together and buy the same, same campaign signage I guess, you know, put up one lawn sign if you support both candidates. But in that news coverage from like a decade ago there is a Dan Sullivan who was quoted just as like a rando Dan Sullivan to comment on how common this name was. And he kind of matches the description of the Dan Sullivan who is the new challenger where he's interviewed about like what's it like to be one of many Dan Sullivans when there are all these other Dan Sullivans running for office. And he's not running for office but he is a teacher, at least according to the story from a decade ago. And the guy who is, who has entered the race is also a former teacher I believe. But he says in that article someone named, someone by the name of Dan Sullivan says it has been a burden said the Dan Sullivan who teaches fifth graders in Petersburg in Southeast Quote I don't have the same political leanings, particularly with the mayor. I'm like oh geez, so the mayor was a Republican, this Dan Sullivan who was quoted a decade ago about being confused with other Dan Sullivans, apparently not a Republican or at least doesn't have the same political sympathies as, as a Republican mayor. And it kind of sounds like that's the Dan Sullivan. I don't know. There are too many Dan Sullivan's to keep track of. But like that to me is also a red flag that maybe this is a guy who's like pretending to be a Republican because he has the same name.

[Will Sommer]

I think there's something interesting you're pointing to which is this idea that people are used to this Dan Sullivan name confusion that they're. Because there is another politician in the state named Dan Sullivan, not the one now who's entered the race. But I think that sets people up to be like oh yeah, I'm used to there being two Dan Sullivan's or whatever. And so this seems a little more credible than if you Just had some random guy named Donald Trump who was also running for office or something like that. So I think it may be these kind of things. I feel like this is like a real wild card, loose cannon situation. It's hard to know if this matters at all, what's going to happen. But I think the other factor we have to talk about here is the ranked choice instant runoff voting they have in Alaska. And how do you think that's going to play in?

[Kathryn Rampel]

Well, on the one hand, it could potentially be more harmful to Dan Sullivan the incumbent, you know, because Dan Sullivan the incumbent is running head to head in this primary against Mary Paltola. Right. And if, if this new Dan Sullivan, Dan Sullivan to Petersburg Dan Sullivan can siphon off some of those votes that would break towards Mary Peltola. But because it's ranked choice voting, I presume voters could just vote for, vote for both Dan Sullivan's in whichever order they wanted and that, you know, and, and withhold ranking Mary Peltola and that could potentially hurt her. I haven't really gamed it out. But then like, yeah, what if they prioritize the wrong Dan Sullivan? I don't know. What do you think?

[Will Sommer]

So if I could offer just a little wisdom from someone here. So Liam Donovan, who I think we've had on the podcast, is sort of a conservative Republican strategist. He said this actually probably won't be that big a deal precisely because of the ranked choice voting. So you know, unless you think that there are a lot of voters who would say, well, I would vote for Mary Peltola and then incumbent Dan Sullivan, let's say, which is probably like not true. You know, it's hard to imagine given the two party system that there's a lot of people like that. That's really the only situation where it would make sense that third, new second, third, second, whatever. The one who just declared that he would be Dan Sullivan Jr. Right. That he would be the challenge that he would pos. If you want to vote for Dan Sullivan the incumbent. And let's say you're confused for whatever reason, you can just say Dan Sullivan. Dan Sullivan. Right. And then they go to the runoff and it's all good.

[Kathryn Rampel]

Well, but what if people rank them in the wrong order? What if they ran?

[Will Sommer]

So that's, so that's, that's asking the pretender Dan Sullivan. Yeah. And you know, Fox News made a good point here as well, which is a bit of a complication. I mean this is also like a rural state, a state with a lot like Very, I mean, you know, to put it lightly, a rural state. And so, I mean, I challenges getting the word out if there's some kind of weird ballot thing. Although on the other hand, I guess Murkowski, didn't she run like a write in campaign, you know, back in the day and that succeeded? So, I mean, you know, it seems like there's a couple factors here that are hard to get our heads around. And one is obviously this name thing. Then there's the third Dan Sullivan. Right. The former mayor. What's how he's going to play into this? And then also it's Alaska. And I think Alaska is just a tricky state for those of us in the lower 48 to figure out.

[Kathryn Rampel]

Yeah, I mean, the Alaska voters definitely seem very sophisticated as voter, as the voter base goes, given that Murkowski won via a write in campaign. Like, that's insane. You know, it was insane at the time and it's, it's impressive as well in retrospect. So maybe on this voter base and no other one would this, if it's a trick, fail. But I do think it's, it's a pretty clever trick if it is a trick. And I wonder in how many other races around the country you could recruit someone like some kind of doppelganger to run to potentially screw over or like what, what kind of ballot design would you need if not ranked choice voting or jungle primary or whatever.

[Will Sommer]

Like what, they just got to put their faces right. But then again they kind of look like each other. So like, you know, maybe that doesn't settle it. But you know, I also wanted to offer a little speculation here on how this all together. Now look, Mary, maybe Mary Peltola's campaign is behind this, whatever. But this also kind of has the fingerprints of like rogue strategist. Kind of calls up every Dan Sullivan in the phone book and it says, look, you know, it was worth a shot. We got one guy, maybe I'll do it, whatever, I'll pay the 200 bucks to register him or what have you. And again, you know, we'll see. But, but it is like, it's certainly funny. When I saw it, I was, you know, but when you look at it, it is, it's harder to know how much of a problem this will be for Republicans. Although I'm sure they wish it wasn't happening.

[Kathryn Rampel]

Yeah. Although maybe it gives them like a grievance to complain about if it doesn't work, but then they can use it as a talking point. Like, look at how hard they're trying to conspire against us? I have no idea. But yes, it'll be certainly fun to watch and to see how the campaigning goes. And to see if they do share lawn signs. Presumably not. But yeah, if the new Dan Sullivan wants to launch his own political career, I guess he has the name recognition to do it if he ever decides to run for another office.

[Will Sommer]

All right, well, you heard it here, folks. This is gonna be an interesting race. Look, who doesn't love some campaign mischief, some tricks, some rat effing, as they used to say back in the Nixon administration, right? I'm so glad we heard from Katherine Rappel, the author of our Receipts newsletter. Katherine. Also, if you enjoyed her here on video or audio, Catherine has a live show 12:30 on Friday. It's called Receipts Live here at the Bulwark YouTube. Check it out. Subscribe to the channel. Folks, thank you so much for joining us.

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