So Many Sullivans, So Little Time

It's As Confusing As All Those Begiches & Murkowskis 

Sometimes Alaska politics seems hopelessly ingrown. For example, when someone talks of 'Senator Murkowski' they are probably referring to the current Senator of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski. Or... then again, maybe they're talking about her Dad, the former U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski. 

And what about Dan Sullivan? Who's that? And how does Dan Sullivan tie in with the U.S. Senate? That's confusing, too. Over the years,  three Dan Sullivans in Alaska have become officially entangled in the race for the Senate. 

The first is Dan Sullivan, the former mayor of Anchorage. The second is Dan Sullivan, the current U.S. Senator. And the third is Dan Sullivan, a guy from Petersburg. 

DANIEL A. SULLIVAN, FORMER MAYOR OF ANCHORAGE

Daniel A. Sullivan, the former Commissioner of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, was executive Director of the 1996 Arctic Winter Games, and owner of the Sullivan Group, a government relations service dealing with oil companies. Oh -- and also, Dan A. Sullivan was elected mayor of Anchorage in 2009. 

Former Mayor Dan Sullivan 

In 2016, Dan A. Sullivan announced he'd run for the U.S. Senate seat Lisa Murkowski held. He dropped out of the race several weeks later. But... if he had run and succeeded in winning, Daniel A. Sullivan would have joined Daniel Scott Sullivan, who is currently a U.S. Senator,  as Alaska's other Senator. 

This would have meant there were two Dan Sullivans from Alaska in the Senate, and this would have provided Alaska and the rest of the United States with endless mirth and confusion – for years. We'd probably still be suffering today. 

DANIEL SCOTT SULLIVAN, CURRENT U.S. SENATOR 

This is the Dan Sullivan most people think of when you say 'Dan Sullivan' nowadays. He's the junior U.S. Senator of the United States. The senior senator is Lisa Murkowski. This Dan Sullivan beat Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Begich, in 2014. He currently works with Nick Begich, Mark Begich's nephew, who is a Republican and holds Alaska's only U.S. House seat. 

(The Begiches are in a league of their own. A Country Journal story about their tangle of political ties in Alaska follows this story.)

DANIEL J. SULLIVAN OF PETERSBURG, ALASKA

And finally, there's a third Dan Sullivan. He's Dan Sullivan of Petersburg, Alaska, a public safety advisory board member in that town, according to Petersburg's website. The U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan's crew says that the Petersburg Sullivan entered the race just to try to throw a monkey wrench. 

But others say there are just a lot of Dan Sullivans floating around the state. How many? According to the Whitepages on the internet, here's a rundown.

Other Dan Sullivans in Alaska are Dan Sullivan of Palmer; Dan Sullivan of North Pole (a research scientist); Dan Sullivan of Wasilla; Dan Sullivan of Nome; the Petersburg Dan Sullivan; Dan Sullivan of Oregon who used to live in Anchorage and Eagle River, and Dan Sullivan of Texas, who also used to live in Anchorage. It's unclear if the U.S. Senator, Dan Sullivan, is in this official phone list of Dan Sullivans who live in Alaska. 

(As an aside, there was another mayor of Anchorage, named George Sullivan, from 1967 to 1981. The Sullivan arena is named after him.) 

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The Begich Family Is Even More Confusing

See The Reprint Of A Recent Journal Story 

On The Begiches Here 

The Begich Family is in some ways like the Kennedy Family... only Alaskan 

As we all know by now, the Kennedys of Massachusetts have a staid and steady Democratic branch – and a wild and wooly Republican one. Robert Kennedy Sr. (a Democrat) and Robert Kennedy Jr. (a Republican) are two very obviously different people, with very divergent ideas of politics.

It's kind of the same with Alaska's illustrious Begich Family. 

IT'S NOT EASY BEING BEGICH...

TOM BEGICH CAMPAIGN ASKS JOURNAL TO HELP KEEP THIS ALL STRAIGHT 

On January 30th, the Tom Begich for Alaska campaign wrote the following to the Journal: 

Hello,

I am writing with a brief request regarding coverage of 2026 statewide races in Alaska.

With multiple Begich family members involved in Alaska’s 2026 elections, we would request that you use first names when referring to Tom Begich and Nick Begich in your coverage.

Tom Begich and Nick Begich have opposing political views and records. Headlines using only their last names confuse the public and do misrepresent their positions.

Thank you for your time,

Alex

Alexander Velaise

Communications Director

Tom Begich For Alaska 

BEGICH FAMILY RUNDOWN 

Nick Begich Sr, the family patriarch, was a politician. Nick Sr. was a member of the Alaska State Senate from 1963-71. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives, and a Democrat. Nick Begich Sr. disappeared in a plane crash in October, 1972 and the plane was never found. He died when he was 40 years old.

Nick Begich Sr.'s wife, Pegge Begich, also a Democrat, was a member of the Democratic National Committee from Alaska, and ran for U.S. Representative from Alaska. 

Nick Begich Sr.'s son, Nick Jr., was a candidate for Alaska Governor in 1998. He is most well known for authoring "Angels Don't Play This HAARP", a wildly popular book about the HAARP project on the Tok Cutoff near Gakona Junction. The book claims that HAARP manipulates global weather, and controls minds.  

Another of Nick Begich Sr.'s sons, Mark Begich, is also a politician. He is a Democrat and was mayor of Anchorage from 2003 to 2009, and held the spot of U.S. Senator before Dan Sullivan got it. Mark Begich was Senator from 2009 to 2015.

Yet a third son of Nick & Pegge Begich (brother of Nick and Mark -- above) is Tom Begich, a Democrat who is a singer-songwriter. Tom Begich is currently running for governor in the 2026 election. Tom Begich is also a poet, writing a book called "Six Truths, Fifty Sonnets." 

Then there's Nick Begich III, who is a Republican and currently Alaska's House Representative (with Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski as his Senate counterparts.) He's the son of Nick Begich, Jr., the HAARP critic. 

 

Begich Middle School 

 The "Begich" Name On Public Buildings 

1. The Begich Towers

Almost everyone in Whittier lives under one roof in the Begich Towers, which were built by the Army, and renamed the Begich Towers after Nick Begich, Sr. died in the airplane crash.

2. Begich-Boggs Visitor Center

When the plane carrying Nick Begich vanished, another passenger was House Majority Leader Hale Boggs of Louisiana. At the entrance to the Whittier Tunnel, the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center, in Portage Valley in Chugach National Forest, honors Nick Sr.

3. Begich Middle School

This is a middle school in Anchorage.