Both Dan Sullivans Will Now Run. But Confusion Still Reigns Regarding Other Duplicating Duos

COPPER RIVER COUNTRY JOURNAL 

 The Supreme Court of Alaska Has Ruled That Dan J. Sullivan Of Petersburg Can Be On The Ballot This Year 

Decision Was That The Retired Schoolteacher 
Was Within The Constitution 

The saga of the two Dan Sullivans has now drawn to something of a close, as the State Supreme Court has allowed the second Dan Sullivan – a teacher from Southeast – to be on the ballot, running for the Senate in this year's August 18th, 2026 primary.

Confusingly, Voting For Multiple People With The Same Last Name Is Actually Common In Alaska 

DAN SULLIVAN & DAN SULLIVAN

The conflict between the dueling Sullivans has already gotten a lot of press this year, when the retired teacher declared his desire to run for office against the sitting Senator who had the same first and last name. Dan Sullivan, the senator, declared that Dan Sullivan, the teacher, was engaged in 'bad faith' and 'cheating' and the senator got the state elections officials to agree with him. 

For awhile, in a nationally-followed story, the feud between Senator Sullivan and the near-silent local man  made major press. To this point, it's mainly neighbors and friends in the coastal town who have stood up for the former teacher as a community member and citizen – with his major argument being that he's running legitimately because he wanted to change things up and that he was the third Dan Sullivan in his family. 

In opposition, the current Senator Dan Sullivan complained that his seemingly mild-mannered opponent was not a 'good faith' candidate, and the state originally agreed. But a superior court judge, along with the state Supreme Court, have recently both said the Petersburg Dan Sullivan was well within his rights to run.

So Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg Alaska, will be on the ballot in 2026. 

But meanwhile, as usual, the Alaska ballots are full of duplicating, even confusing names, even before you factor in the two Sullivans. 

For example:

TOM BEGICH & NICK BEGICH

Tom Begich, the uncle of Nick Begich III, is running as a Democrat for Governor and Nick Begich III is running as a Republican to reclaim the House seat previously held by Mary Peltola, who had it before he got it in 2024. 

Tom Begich is a Democrat, running for Governor.
(Photo, Country Journal)

Begich is a big name in Alaska, so the Tom Begich team has asked the press to make sure that when they're talking Begich, they are careful to identify which Begich – the two Begiches have widely disparate ideas, although they're not running for the same seat. 

Nick Begich, Tom's nephew, is a Republican running
for U.S. House. (Photo, Country Journal)

ERIC HAFNER & CAROL HAFNER

Eric Hafner, who is serving 20 years in a federal prison in New York, is running again on the Alaska ballot, for U.S. House – against Nick Begich. 

Before the Sullivan-Sullivan dispute was settled, Eric Hafner was already securely accepted by the elections division of Alaska as a legitimate candidate, despite his convict status, his inability to show up and serve because he still has years of incarceration ahead, and his past. 

This is the second time Eric Hafner has successfully made his way onto Alaska's ballot. He ran in 2024, too, after being convicted in 2022 of threatening to kill law enforcement officials and judges before being put away in prison for several decades.

The State Supreme Court enshrined Eric Hafner's rights in stone. When Alaska Democrats sued the state elections division to take Eric Hafner off the ballot in 2024, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled, 4 to 1, that he could remain.

 Convicted felons who do not live in a state are legally allowed to run for office. 

So, despite not living in Alaska, and never having been to Alaska, Eric Hafner managed to make it into the general election the last time around, and is again on the ballot this year. 

He's been serially running for office in several states for ten years. He ran, in 2016, as a Republican in the US House primary in Hawaii. He got 44.09% of the Hawaiian Republican primary vote. Then he ran as a Democrat in the Oregon primary in 2018. 

Eric Hafner, serving 20 years in a New York prison,
is already on the ballot to run against Nick Begich III
for Alaska Congress. 

Meanwhile, Eric's mom, Carol Hafner, who doesn't live in Alaska either, but in South Dakota, has successfully passed whatever hurdles needed to be followed, and she's officially listed on the Alaska ballot already, too.  She's running for U.S. Senate, representing Alaska. So she will be up against both Dan Sullivan the Senator and Dan Sullivan the former schoolteacher, now that he's being allowed to join her on the ballot. 

Carol Hafner has apparently joined her son in making running for office in various states a hobby of sorts. In 2018, she ran as a Democrat for the House in Alaska. In 2020, she ran as a Democrat in Wyoming and got over 5,000 votes. 

From Carol Hafner's 2020 Wyoming ballot website.
She's running for Alaska Senate against the two Dan Sullivans,
and has never visited Alaska.

HARMONY TOMASZEWSKI & FRANK TOMASZEWSKI

And finally, here's another duo that's running for differing positions under the same last name.  

A Fairbanks married couple will be running for two seats in the Alaska Legislature. Harmony Tomaszewski is running in the primary for the House seat in District 34. Her husband,  Frank Tomaszewski,  is running for the Alaska State Senate, District Q.