An outsized response

Michelle Bonnet Hale

By Michelle Bonnet Hale

“Two thoughts on two Dan Sullivans,” my column published on June 15, 2026, pointed to an option of ambiguity as a response to the curious chapter of Dan Sullivan from Petersburg (whom I’ve been calling “Petersburg Dan”) running for the same seat as seated U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan. I opined that Petersburg Dan should step down, and that the Alaska Division of Elections should not remove him from the ballot.

Well. There’s a lot of water under the bridge since that innocent little opinion piece. Since then, the Alaska Division of Elections forced the issue all the way to the Alaska Supreme Court, who as predicted ruled against them.

Per ABC News on July 3, 2026 and NBC News on July 4, 2026, Petersburg Dan Sullivan is also under investigation by the federal Department of Justice for potential wire fraud or conspiracy charges.

Sen. Dan Sullivan has called Petersburg Dan “sham Dan Sullivan.” He’s a “far-left liberal” because he has donated to Democrats’ campaigns. Opinion writers and reporters, including the Juneau Empire’s Win Gruening, have called Petersburg Dan Sullivan “Decoy Dan.” Accusations have been made, with no evidence, that the Peltola campaign put Petersburg Dan Sullivan up to running for the Senate.

Wow. A federal investigation. The Alaska Division of Elections forcing the issue to the Alaska Supreme Court. Seated Sen. Dan Sullivan stooping to the level of name-calling, not to mention jumping on the Trump Administration’s bandwagon of labeling all Democrats “far-left liberals.”

Without this sledgehammer approach to cracking a nut, 99% of Alaskans would not have even heard of Petersburg Dan Sullivan. Perhaps seated Sen. Dan Sullivan, who knows how to be a reasonable man (I know, as I have worked with him while at the State), could have picked up the phone and said, “Look, Dan, let’s not confuse Alaskans unnecessarily and figure out a way to list both of us so that people know who they are picking.” Petersburg Dan Sullivan also appears to be a reasonable man who might have compromised.

The Division of Elections itself might have attempted to facilitate agreement between the two Dans on how they would appear on the ballot.

Instead, the full weight of the state and federal governments has been brought to bear against a man who shares a name with a seated senator and who wants to use that name to make a political statement.

We should all be chilled at this. Approved twice by Alaskan voters, Alaska’s open primary system allows a person to run for U.S. Senate if they are 30 years old, have lived in the U.S. for nine years, and live in Alaska.

Alaska’s legal system does not allow the Division of Elections to arbitrarily remove a candidate from the ballot.

It no longer makes sense for Petersburg Dan to step down, so I no longer advocate for this. However, I will not be voting for him because such a vote could muddy a hugely consequential election.

But I believe that we Alaskans owe Petersburg Dan Sullivan a thank you for his decision to run regardless of his reasons for that decision. The Alaska Division of Elections has shown its hand early in this election cycle with its convoluted and partisan and illegal efforts to block a valid candidate from the election. We should all be aware, and wary. Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and Gov. Mike Duneavy have already sent our voter rolls to the federal government, and now have brought the full weight of the state to bear against a single candidate for daring to run. 

President Trump is increasingly desperate and threatening as he attempts to assure that Democrats lose the general election in November. In 2020, when President Trump lost the election for presidency, he incited a mob attack on the U.S. Capitol. The State of Alaska under Gov. Dunleavy has now given us good reason to believe that the state will join President Trump in his wild machinations to take this election. We ain’t seen nothin’ yet, and it will be up to us to hold Alaskan officials responsible for every single action that they take to undermine this election.

• Michelle Bonnet Hale’s roots go deep in Juneau and Southeast Alaska. She and her partner share their household with various relatives and three dogs. She served for six years on the Juneau Assembly.