A tale of two Dan Sullivans: Republicans with same name contest Alaska primary

Republican Senate candidate Dan J Sullivan, left, and current Alaska republican senator Dan S Sullivan, right, will both appear on the Alaska primary ballot this week. Composite: Sullivan for Senate, CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

Dan J Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher and US Forest Service employee living in the town of Petersburg in south-eastern Alaska, who is running as a Republican for the US Senate. Dan S Sullivan is a Republican US senator, who has represented Alaska since 2015.

Both candidates will appear on the ballot, one name after the other, when Alaskans vote in primary elections this week – a complicated quirk of the contest that has drawn howls from Republicans.