As food, fireworks and festivities kick off in celebration of Independence Day 2026, frequent flyers in and around the Big Apple are likely to face nixed or postponed takeoffs.
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Monday that a candidate with the same name as the incumbent senator is eligible to run against him. Republican Senate candidate Dan […]
Alaska Republicans' bid to keep a second Dan Sullivan off the U.S. Senate ballot has failed at the state's highest court.The Alaska Supreme Court on Monday affirmed a lower-court order directing the state Division of Elections to include Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher from the fishing town of Petersburg, as a candidate in the August primary against incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (R-AK), who seeks a third term. The justices sent the case back to the division to decide how the challenger will be listed under existing ballot-design law."We're disappointed in the court's decision because, as the sham candidate Dan J. Sullivan's lawyers made clear in their legal arguments, the only reason he is running is to deceive voters and manipulate Alaska's election system," Nate Adams, Sullivan's senior campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. "However, we are encouraged by the fact that the Director of the Division of Elections will be able to use her expertise to differentiate between the Petersburg fraud and the incumbent — Senator Dan Sullivan — to the benefit of Alaska voters."The ruling caps a saga that erupted when the lesser-known Sullivan filed to run, prompting the sitting senator to accuse Democrats of planting a same-named candidate to siphon his votes and boost Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola. "He's not in it to win it. He's in it to rig it," Sullivan has said. Peltola, state Democrats, and the challenger all denied any coordination.Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, a Republican, disqualified the challenger in June, finding his candidacy was not filed in "good faith." The move quickly drew scrutiny, including from a nonpartisan legislative attorney who concluded the disqualification was probably illegal because the Constitution sets only three qualifications for the Senate: age, citizenship and residency.An Anchorage Superior Court judge reinstated Sullivan last week, and the Supreme Court agreed, rejecting the "good faith" standard the state had applied.The Republican Party of Alaska, a coalition of 14 GOP-led states and the Honest Elections Project, had filed briefs backing the division's effort.Under Alaska's open primary, the top four finishers on Aug. 18 advance to November's ranked-choice general election.
Republicans in Alaska were dealt a significant blow Friday after a court intervened to keep a Senate challenger on the ballot.The Superior Court for the State of Alaska in the Third Judicial District has ruled that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a challenger to Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, must be restored to the primary ballot for U.S. Senate.'The Division's application of a “good-faith” test to Mr. Sullivan's declaration of candidacy is not supported by the US Constitution, Alaska statutes, or the Division's implementing regulations.'Judge Thomas Matthews held that the Alaska Division of Elections unlawfully imposed a “good-faith” candidacy requirement on J. Sullivan — a requirement that does not appear in the U.S. Constitution, Alaskan statutes, or division regulations.J. Sullivan, a 69-year-old retired teacher, reportedly registered as a Republican earlier this year and entered the race to oust Sen. S. Sullivan on May 29, just before the deadline for filing.In response, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Alaska Republican Party filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission and the state's division of elections, respectively.After Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (R) requested an investigation into J. Sullivan’s eligibility, Carol Beecher, the director of the Division of Elections, concluded that J. Sullivan had not filed a genuine "good-faith" candidacy and instead sought to confuse voters by placing two candidates with nearly identical names on the ballot — deeming him ineligible to seek the office of senator. He has also been accused of coordinating with Democrat operatives. Sen. S. Sullivan told CNN earlier this month that J. Sullivan's candidacy was effectively a Democratic effort to "cheat."J. Sullivan appealed the division's decision to the Superior Court, where Judge Matthews ruled in his favor.RELATED: Will the real Dan Sullivan please stand up? Alaska GOP works to keep another Dan Sullivan off the open primary ballot Matthews affirmed that J. Sullivan met all the qualifying criteria set out by the Constitution, and therefore Alaska could not impose an additional requirement on his candidacy. The court further concluded that Sullivan's alleged motives or political affiliations did not bear on his constitutional eligibility to seek office.“The Division's application of a 'good-faith' test to Mr. Sullivan's declaration of candidacy is not supported by the U.S. Constitution, Alaska statutes, or the Division's implementing regulations. As such, the Division's decision to exclude Mr. Sullivan from the primary ballot is without a legal basis,” Matthews determined.Matthews argued that ballot design — not exclusion — is the proper remedy for concerns over voter confusion.“The Division may also design the ballot to facilitate fairness, simplicity, and clarity. But those tools are different from the complete exclusion of a candidate."The state has appealed the decision to the Alaska Supreme Court, with oral arguments scheduled for Monday. Unless the state high court intervenes, J. Sullivan will appear on Alaska's Aug. 18 nonpartisan primary ballot.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
