Sullivan voted against every Iran war powers resolution this year — a record now drawing outside money before the primary

Sen. Dan Sullivan has voted no on all 13 Senate attempts this year to direct the withdrawal of U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran, a consistent record that has made him a target of outside spending as Alaska's Aug. 18 primary approaches.

The votes are a matter of record. The most consequential came June 23, when the Senate adopted a House-passed resolution 50-48, directing President Donald Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran unless Congress declares war or authorizes force. Sullivan voted no; Sen. Lisa Murkowski was one of four Republicans who crossed over to vote yes. The measure was a concurrent resolution, meaning it carried no legal force and never went to the president's desk — a point central to how its opponents justified voting against it. The campaign of War Powers votes has run since March, with the closest tally a 49-50 failure on July 30.

Sullivan's own office has not issued a statement on the Iran votes, and the Congressional Record shows no floor remarks from him on the resolutions. But his no-vote was neither isolated nor unexplained in the broader Senate debate. It was a common Republican position — Sens. John Curtis, Thom Tillis, Josh Hawley and Todd Young were among others who voted no — and party leaders laid out the case publicly. Majority Leader John Thune argued it would be inappropriate to undercut the president's authority as commander in chief while Trump was overseas negotiating, urging Republicans to "hang together." The White House argued there were no hostilities left to withdraw from, saying they had ended with an April ceasefire. On the Senate floor, Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch of Idaho argued a non-binding resolution would carry no legal weight while costing the administration leverage mid-negotiation. "Let diplomacy work," he said.

Murkowski has not consistently split from Sullivan on the issue. She voted no on the first six Iran votes of the year before shifting to yes on most votes since mid-May, and missed one July vote.

The votes have now drawn national money into the race. VoteVets Action Fund, a veterans' political group, has been reported to be planning a $225,000 television campaign against Sullivan over the Iran votes in the run-up to the primary, though the group has not published its own announcement and the buy has not been independently confirmed in federal records. If it airs, it would be a fraction of the money already moving. A group called North Star reported an estimated $991,484 buy opposing Sullivan on Aug. 8, while Americans for Prosperity Action reported $500,000 supporting him on Aug. 4.