There will be two Dan Sullivans on the November ballot for Alaska’s Senate seat, a crucial contest that could determine which party controls the chamber next year.

Long-shot contender Dan Sullivan, a retired teacher and a critic of President Donald Trump, finished third in last week’s all-party primary, with just 3,600 votes, according to The Associated Press. 

But that was enough to secure him a place on the general election ballot, along with Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola and two-term Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. Under Alaska law, the top four finishers in the primary advance to the general election, which is decided by ranked-choice voting. As of Wednesday morning, the fourth slot had yet to be called by the AP. 

The incumbent senator and his allies have panned his namesake challenger’s candidacy as a scheme by Democrats to confuse voters and give Peltola an edge, a charge Peltola and her supporters deny.

State officials listed the senator on the ballot as Dan S. Sullivan, noting his status as the Republican incumbent. The challenger was listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., with no party affiliation noted. 

The senator did get some welcome news from yet another Dan Sullivan, when former Anchorage Mayor Daniel A. Sullivan endorsed his candidacy last week. 

“As the OG Dan Sullivan, I urge Alaskans to vote for Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan. He’s been great for Alaska,” the former mayor wrote on social media Aug. 18. 

An Alaska general election candidate who nets even a few thousand votes could play a decisive role when no one takes an outright majority in the initial ballot count. With voters having the option to rank candidates in order of preference, their second- and third-choice votes could decide the race’s outcome.  

Traditionally Republican Alaska is a surprise Senate battleground this year. Democrats have won exactly one Senate election there in the past five decades, and that was against a Republican who had just been convicted on corruption charges. 

But the party landed a prize recruit in Peltola, a moderate who won two elections for Alaska’s at-large House seat, becoming the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress. She lost reelection by 2 points in 2024, even as Donald Trump was carrying the state by 13 points. 

In a state where the cost of living outpaces the national average, Peltola has focused on affordability concerns. The incumbent Sullivan, who has Trump’s endorsement, has sought to cast Peltola as a liberal out of step with the state’s conservative values.

Peltola’s successor in the House, Republican Nick Begich, is also facing a competitive reelection campaign this fall. As of Wednesday morning, he had 46 percent of the primary vote, according to the AP, compared with 31 percent for his nearest challenger, independent Bill Hill. The AP projects that Begich and Hill will both advance to the November general election. 

The other two spots in the House race remain uncalled. Democrat Matt Schultz, who ended his House campaign last month but remained on the ballot, was in third place with 8 percent as of Wednesday morning. He has endorsed Hill, a commercial fisherman and former regional school superintendent, and is expected to withdraw from the general election if he finishes in the top four. Democrat Eric Hafner, a perennial candidate who currently resides in a federal prison in New York, is currently in fourth place with nearly 4 percent.