The Sullivan who won his case lands on the ballot with no party

Daniel J. Sullivan filed for U.S. Senate as a Republican, beat the state's attempt to throw him off the ballot, and will appear on the Aug. 18 primary with no party label at all. The senator he's challenging, Dan S. Sullivan, gets listed as a registered Republican and the incumbent.

The Petersburg retiree, no relation to the senator, was disqualified June 15 when the Division of Elections found he wasn't running in good faith, citing his shared name and matching party. Courts undid that. A superior court judge ruled the division had abused its discretion, finding no basis in the constitution, state law or the division's own regulations for a good-faith test. The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed on June 29.

But the high court's order did one more thing: it sent the question of how Sullivan would be listed back to the Division of Elections, the same agency that had just lost. The division's answer, in the sample ballot it released, was to identify him as "Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr." with no party affiliation, even though he registered Republican.

The senator has called the candidacy an effort to confuse voters and branded the challenger a "sham." Daniel J. Sullivan rejects that and calls himself a "pragmatic Republican centrist," a label that won't appear next to his name.

Sixteen candidates are running. The top four advance to the Nov. 3 ranked-choice general election.