What's In A Name? Alaska Voters Frequently Deal With Confusing Political Names. Like Santa Claus

COPPER RIVER COUNTRY JOURNAL 

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan Accuses Another Dan Sullivan Of Muddying The Political Waters  

Alaska is not your ordinary state. In 2022, there were 33 official candidates running for Don Young's seat in the House of Representatives after Young died. Along with the people with ordinary-sounding names, such as Christopher Constant and David Hughes, there was one Begich. Which made him stand out. 

This was Nick Begich III, of the well-known and very political Begich family of Alaska. Nick Begich was the nephew of Mark Begich, and the grandson of the first Nick Begich, who died in a plane crash. Mark Begich had been the Democratic mayor of Anchorage. Nick Begich I was a Democratic U.S. Senator. 

Nick Begich III, a Republican, had opponents in that 2022 House race who had unusual – even almost crazy-sounding – names. One of them was Lady Donna Dutchess of Anchorage. The other was Santa Claus – of North Pole. 

Although Santa's name is universally known and this might seem to have given him an edge in the competition, Santa is not the real Santa. He's an NYU graduate who's also a monk and child welfare activist who worked in the New York City Police Department and lived in North Pole. 

Yet despite the confusion and Santa's unbridled overall popularity, Nick Begich III beat Santa Claus – and the Dutchess – and won Young's seat. 

But Santa has stayed in politics. Currently, Santa Claus is former mayor pro tem of North Pole. Here's an official picture from his web site: 

Names of politicians in Alaska are in the news right now again.. especially the most well-known and repetitive ones: Murkowski, Begich, and Sullivan. 

Surprisingly, although Alaskans know these three names very well, only one last name – Sullivan – is common around the English-speaking world. The other two aren't -- most likely because they originated in non-English speaking countries in northern Europe: Poland and Croatia. 

There were two Alaska U.S. Senators named Murkowski -- Frank and his daughter, Lisa. There are half a dozen Begiches in Alaska who have run, successfully and unsuccessfully, for all kinds of Alaskan political posts, including governor and mayor and U.S. Senator. Lisa Murkowski is known for having launched a write-in campaign that revolved around her long and foreign name, in which voters had to correctly write her name on the ballot. 

And then there are the Dan Sullivans. One Dan Sullivan was mayor of Anchorage and ran briefly for U.S. Senator against Lisa Murkowski -- at the very same time that a second Dan Sullivan, the current U.S. Senator, held the other Senate seat. Now there's a third Dan Sullivan, from Petersburg, who is also running for that Senate seat. 

Each of these well-known Alaska names – Murkowski, Begich and Sullivan –  stems from the waves of immigrants who came to America. 

Murkowski is the Polish name. Begich is Croatian and Slavic. And Sullivan comes from the large number of Irish immigrants who flooded the country at the start of the 20th century, especially the East Coast. 

Currently, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan is annoyed by the third Dan Sullivan -- an elementary schoolteacher from Petersburg - who has signed on to oppose him in the upcoming election. The U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan says that the fact this guy is running using his same name means he's 'cheating' and trying to deceive Alaska voters who can't tell them apart. He also apparently has supported Democrats in the past. 

The Petersburg Dan Sullivan says he has no apologies for his Irish name or his politics. He says he's a Dan Sullivan, his Dad was a Dan Sullivan, and his grandpa was a Dan Sullivan. 

According to the web, the last name 'Sullivan' is a common one in Ireland, where it comes in third on the list of all Irish surnames. It's also popular in Massachusetts – where it comes in third, too. Overall, in America as a whole, Sullivan is an extremely common name. It's in the top 100 last names, along with all the Smiths and Johnsons. It's so common, in fact, that the three Dan Sullivans who have declared their political intentions over the years don't even appear to be related. Around 250,000 Americans are Sullivans – 70 for every 100,000 people.

That's not so regarding the Begiches. Begich is not a common name at all. There are only 350 or so Begiches in America. In Alaska, all of them seem pretty political, even though they fall on either side of the spectrum in politics. And, they are all tightly related by blood. Right now, Tom Begich, a Democrat, is running for governor, and Nick Begich, a Republican (and Tom Begich's nephew) is running again for his House seat.  Which caused the Tom Begich team to write to the press last winter to make sure it was clear who was who, as they hold opposing political views despite their last names. Mark Begich, Tom's brother, was mayor of Anchorage and the U.S. Senator before the current Dan Sullivan. 

The two Alaska Murkowskis are also related. Lisa Murkowski and Frank Murkowski have both won U.S. Senate seats in Alaska, and Frank – the dad - was also governor. There are precious few Murkowskis anywhere in America, according to the web, which says the name is extraordinarily rare. The web says the Murkowski last name is 116,774 in rank, with one Murkowski for every 1.8 million people. There are around 180 Murkowskis in the United States. 

On Tuesday, June 9th, the state of Alaska began "a probe" into the Dan Sullivan from Petersburg.