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A
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. Katherine, what is happening?
B
Okay, so we have a photo of two men. Do you know the difference between these two men?
A
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 maybe describe them.
B
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 Peltola is the candidate who will be also running in this election. In. In. It's basically a. 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 rep. You know, 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 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 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?
A
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 gonna decide, help decide whether Democrats win the Senate in all likelihood. And then suddenly you have this. 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 like maybe that's prejudicial. It strikes me as a classic dirty trick. Or it's like the classic election mischief is finding a guy with the same name as the incumbent or the other at 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, you know, as you said, I mean Republicans are furious about it, you know, and you know, obviously this is an important race.
B
Yeah. According to local reporting, there are at least nine Dan Sullivans who are registered to vote across the state of Alaska, which has a population of about 740. 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.
A
And let's make clear, there was 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 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.
B
Yeah, I mean, yes, sort of. Dr. Seussi. The whole thing is also sort of like who's on first? Ish, you know, confusion about which Dan Sullivan. Will the real Dan Sullivan please stand up and is which Dan Sullivan is on first or you know, shortstop or what 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, a middle initial or anything else. It's or, or the brand of the fleece that they're wearing in those video in the, 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 that there are no FEC filings for the new Dan Sullivan and there are some conflicting political action committee. In some of the campaign materials, there is metadata, including someone by the name of Amber Lee who has backed Peltola, again, the Democratic candidate in the past. In some of the materials that have been distributed, the Anchorage Daily News.
Podcast: The Bulwark
Date: May 31, 2026
Host: Will Sommer
Guest: Catherine Rampell
In this episode, Will Sommer and Catherine Rampell dive into the bewildering developments in Alaska’s Senate race, where a second Republican candidate named Dan Sullivan—sharing the exact name of the incumbent—is challenging for the seat. They explore allegations of political “dirty tricks,” discuss the broader implications for the 2026 Senate balance, and distill the comedic and confusing elements emerging from this unprecedented name-twin candidacy.
The episode is lighthearted and subtly incredulous, blending pointed political analysis with levity. Both hosts enjoy riffing on the absurdity of the situation, making comedic references while discussing genuine electoral concerns and the implications of name confusion on a critical Senate race.