Petersburg resident Dan J. Sullivan has been decertified and denied a spot on the ballot as a U.S. Senate candidate for the seat held by incumbent Dan S. Sullivan, the Alaska Division of Elections announced on Monday, June 15.

“I conclude that your declaration of candidacy was not properly filed with the division because it was not filed in order to declare an actual good-faith candidacy for the office of United States Senator, but was instead filed with a purpose to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot’s fairness or neutrality,” Carol Beecher, the division’s director, stated in a three-page letter of determination to the retired Petersburg teacher.

Dan J. Sullivan has 30 days to appeal the decision, according to Beecher, though it’s effectively half that time. “If you intend to challenge the decision and seek judicial relief in Alaska Superior Court to be placed on the ballot, be aware ballots are printed on June 28,” Beecher wrote in her June 15 letter.

The 69-year-old Petersburg resident has denied any intent to deceive voters. He said he filed as a Republican, despite never being a party member previously, because he was a longtime member of the Alaskan Independence Party that disbanded at the beginning of this year. He noted he has considered a run for public office for more than a decade and meets all the legal requirements for a U.S. Senate candidate.

“Your office has no legal basis to exclude my name or party affiliation from the ballot,” he wrote in a June 10 letter to Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who oversees the elections division. 

Complaints against Dan J. Sullivan were filed with the elections division by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Alaska Republican Party. They allege he coordinated with Democratic officials, including candidate U. S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola, to deceive voters by filing as a Republican with the same name as the incumbent.

Peltola’s campaign and state Democratic party officials have denied the allegations.

The state issued a preliminary decision last week, denying Dan J. Sullivan a spot on the ballot, following up with its final decision on Monday.

Dan J. Sullivan is among the 15 candidates challenging the Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan for the seat in the Aug 18 primary election.

Dahlstrom, a Republican, in her letter to the challenger last week, asked about his affiliation with the Republican Party, the names he has used to register to vote, design decisions on his campaign website and logo and whether he has coordinated with the Democratic Party.

Dahlstrom questioned whether Petersburg’s Sullivan was running with “the deliberate intent to confuse voters.”

Sullivan denied the allegations. He said he was running under his lawful name as a Republican and denied any affiliation with outside groups. 

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which works to elect Republicans, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission that accused Petersburg’s Sullivan of violating federal law, and said he was working with political strategist to misrepresent his campaign.

The Alaska Beacon contributed to this report.