Same-Name Candidates Trigger Probes In Alaska

Alaska's US Senate race and the Justice Department are investigating whether Democrats recruited a retired teacher named Daniel J. Sullivan to siphon votes from incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit last week asking a court to delay certification if the incumbent loses but would have won if votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan had instead gone to Senator Sullivan. President Donald Trump called for the criminal prosecution of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola over the matter, writing that she should "suffer the Legal and Political consequences for what she has done." He added: "So should the FAKE Dan Sullivan. Nothing else will do!"

A New York Times report on Wednesday indicated Democrats appeared connected to Daniel J. Sullivan's candidacy. Legal experts told CNN the federal suit is unlikely to succeed because Alaska's Supreme Court has already ruled to keep the retired teacher on the ballot. The state's Division of Elections lists Senator Sullivan as the incumbent Republican and Daniel J. Sullivan without a party affiliation. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a post on X that he would investigate whether recruiting a second Dan Sullivan violated state laws.

Alaska's top-four primary system and ranked-choice voting make the state susceptible to same-name candidates. The ranked-choice system allows voters to select more than one candidate, so a voter confused about which Dan Sullivan to choose could pick both, a scenario that would still favor the incumbent over Peltola. The August primary for the Senate seat drew spending on minor candidates. Fair Deal Alaska spent more than $800,000 attacking Peltola while promoting a lesser-known Democratic candidate and a Green Party candidate. A post-primary campaign finance filing showed the group was funded mostly by the Senate Leadership Fund, the top Republican super PAC in Senate races.

In Washington in 2024, a Republican activist paid two other Democratic candidates named Bob Ferguson to run in the gubernatorial primary against state Attorney General Bob Ferguson. The other two Fergusons withdrew after 72 hours when Bob Ferguson threatened legal action. He invoked an 81-year-old Washington state law making it a felony to challenge a candidate with the same name "and whose political reputation is widely known, with intent to confuse and mislead the electors." Bob Ferguson went on to be elected governor and called the effort an "attack on our democracy."

Thomas Kahn, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University, called same-name candidacies "a time-honored tradition." He said, "It's not a good practice," but added that "if trying to confuse voters was a crime, then every politician would be in jail."

In 1930, incumbent Sen. George W. Norris faced another George W. Norris, a grocery clerk, in the Nebraska Republican primary. "I'm finished unless the other George W. Norris is kept off the ballot," the senator said. The chief justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court later ruled the other Norris ineligible because his petition had not been legally filed in time. In 1954, John Francis Kennedy, a stockroom supervisor at a Gillette razor factory, filed for Massachusetts state treasurer and won without a party endorsement or public campaigning. He took three terms. During his 1956 reelection bid, another newcomer, John M. Kennedy, entered the race.

In Florida in 2020, authorities said Republican state Sen. Frank Artiles paid $50,000 to Alex Rodriguez to run and draw votes from Democratic incumbent Jose Javier Rodriguez. Alex Rodriguez received more than 6,000 votes. Republican Ileana Garcia beat the incumbent by 32 votes. Artiles was convicted of excessive campaign contributions and procuring the falsification of a candidate oath form. Alex Rodriguez had sworn he lived within the district while residing in another county. Florida law permits ghost candidates but bars campaign contributions over $1,000.

The Alaska Democratic Party sued in 2024 to keep Eric Hafner off the US House ballot, arguing an unaffiliated Democrat on the ballot "would confuse voters." Hafner has no apparent ties to Alaska and is serving time in a federal prison in New York. A divided state Supreme Court allowed him to remain on the ballot. He is running again this year and appears on the November 3 ranked vote general election ballot.