In addition to fending off a Democratic challenger, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, is wrestling against confusion caused by a candidate who shares his name — Dan J. Sullivan Jr., an independent — and a shrinking window to clear it up.
Alaska state Sen. James Kaufman, a Republican, said he personally remains worried about conflation between the two.
"I've had at least one person say they had to slow down to make sure they didn't make a mistake. And I can only imagine people who are less engaged in politics — I think it can be confusing," Kaufman said.
Results on Tuesday seem to confirm his hunch.
Sullivan Jr.'s campaign, which has focused on his background as a logger, has meaningfully splintered support from the incumbent Republican candidate in the primary — but not enough to create ambiguity about who the frontrunner was in the primary. Now, the question becomes whether the Sullivan look-alike will have a proportional impact in November, given Alaska's ranked choice voting system, a larger pool of voters and more time for Republicans to warn voters about the dueling Sullivans.
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Alaska state Sen. James Kaufman, a Republican, said he personally remains worried about conflation between the two.
"I've had at least one person say they had to slow down to make sure they didn't make a mistake. And I can only imagine people who are less engaged in politics — I think it can be confusing," Kaufman said.
Results on Tuesday seem to confirm his hunch.
Sullivan Jr.'s campaign, which has focused on his background as a logger, has meaningfully splintered support from the incumbent Republican candidate in the primary — but not enough to create ambiguity about who the frontrunner was in the primary. Now, the question becomes whether the Sullivan look-alike will have a proportional impact in November, given Alaska's ranked choice voting system, a larger pool of voters and more time for Republicans to warn voters about the dueling Sullivans.
#republican
2 months ago
