Dan S. Sullivan
Incumbent Republican US Senator for Alaska, first elected in 2014.
Senator Dan S. Sullivan trailed Democrat Mary Peltola by 4,250 first-choice votes in Alaska's count released late on 10 November, with more than 245,000 ballots counted. The ranked-choice tabulation on 18 November decides whether he keeps his seat.
Last refreshed: 11 November 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why did a Toss-up rating hit a two-term incumbent who did nothing wrong?
Timeline for Dan S. Sullivan
Fell 4,250 first-choice votes behind
US Midterms 2026: Peltola sues Alaska for absentee recordsTrailed on first choices and said he would accept the results
US Midterms 2026: Peltola leads Sullivan by 0.3 pointsMentioned in: DSCC lifts candidate spending to $21.05m
US Midterms 2026Mentioned in: SLF funds new PACs in Nebraska and Maine
US Midterms 2026Musk's America PAC books $1.43m of mail
US Midterms 2026Background
Dan S. Sullivan is the Republican US senator for Alaska, first elected in 2014. His 2026 re-election against Democrat Mary Peltola went to Alaska's ranked-choice tabulation after neither reached half the first-choice vote.
Before entering the Senate, Sullivan served as Alaska Attorney General and as a US Marine Corps officer, and he remains a Marine Corps Reserve member. His Senate work centres on Arctic policy, fisheries and natural-resource development, subjects that track Alaska's federal interests.
The 2026 race tested him on unusual ground. A same-name Republican was restored to the ballot by the state's highest court in June, and Cook Political Report shifted its rating to Toss-up from Lean Republican. On 6 October Sabato's Crystal Ball rated it Leans Democratic. Outside money followed: Fair Deal Alaska, a committee funded by the Senate Leadership Fund, filed its first report on 15 October and campaigned against Peltola.
His seat hangs on ranked choices
Sullivan finished election night 0.3 points behind Peltola on first choices, 47.9% to 48.2%, with 74.3% of the expected vote counted. The count released late on 10 November widened her lead to 4,250 votes. Neither has half the vote, so ballots for the other names pass to each voter's next choice at the tabulation on 18 November. He told CNN he would accept the result. On 1 November a federal judge dismissed a Justice Department suit that sought to stop Alaska certifying anyone but him.
His own name complicated the ballot. A retired Petersburg teacher, Dan J. Sullivan, filed as a Republican; the elections division struck him off, but the Alaska Supreme Court restored him on 29 June. Votes for the namesake now matter to the outcome, and the governor says investigators are looking at his run.
Sullivan's seat hangs on ranked choices
Is Dan Sullivan's Senate seat at risk in 2026?
Is Dan Sullivan connected to the name-duplicate primary challenger?
Who is Dan Sullivan running against in 2026?
Reference
Who is Dan Sullivan, the Alaska senator?
What Senate committees does Dan Sullivan serve on?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 11 November 2026. Editorial standards.