Trump urges Alaskans to vote for the ‘real’ Dan Sullivan in tight midterms battle
Republican senator Dan S Sullivan is vying for re-election against Democrat Mary Peltola – and another candidate called Dan J Sullivan Donald Trump has encouraged Alaskans to vote for the “real” Dan Sullivan, as he sought a breakthrough for the Republican incumbent senator in a tightly fought Senate race complicated by a rival candidate with a near-identical name. Sullivan’s re-election campaign this year against…
Key points
- Donald Trump told Alaskans to vote for the 'real' Dan Sullivan in a tight Senate race.
- Republican incumbent Dan S Sullivan faces Democrat Mary Peltola and another Republican, Daniel Sullivan.
- The 3 November election uses ranked-choice voting, which Trump called 'a scam'.
Donald Trump urged Alaskans to vote for the 'real' Dan Sullivan, seeking a breakthrough for the Republican incumbent senator in a closely contested Senate race complicated by a rival candidate with a near-identical name.
Sullivan's re-election campaign against Democrat Mary Peltola, a former US House lawmaker, has become one of the most hotly contested battles of the midterms, in which Democrats hope to seize back control of Congress and hamper Trump for the final two years of his presidency.
Trump speaks in Wasilla
Trump told a packed auditorium on Tuesday in Wasilla, about 45 miles (72km) north of Anchorage, that on November 3 voters should send 'the real Dan Sullivan' back to Washington and reject 'the fake Dan Sullivan', whom he said was 'put up by' the Democrats.
Trump said the challenger was put up to confuse voters and noted the 2.5% of the vote the other Sullivan received in the August primary, saying: 'That's a lot, that's too much. That could be the difference.'
On November 3, we're going to send one of the best and most respected senators in DC Dan Sullivan, the real Dan Sullivan
— Donald Trump
Ballot and voting rules
The incumbent senator will appear on the 3 November ballot with '(Registered Republican) Incumbent' next to his name. The election will be held under ranked-choice voting, and Alaskans can rank up to five candidates.
Trump attacked the method approved by a 2020 voter referendum as 'a scam' and encouraged Alaskans to support a measure on this year's ballot to repeal it.
Peltola campaign responds
Speaking before Trump took the stage, Sullivan accused Peltola of planning to undermine Alaska's oil and gas industry, saying his opponent 'not only did nothing to stop it, she enabled it'.
A spokesperson for Peltola's campaign said the candidate 'looks forward to working with President Trump to unleash Alaska energy and lower costs' when elected, and that Peltola spent Tuesday talking with Alaskans in Kotzebue about lowering their costs and taking on DC corruption.
