Alaska could send two Dan Sullivans to Washington if the former mayor of Anchorage wins his bid for Senate.
He is challenging incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary for Senate, while the other
Dan Sullivan was elected in 2014, The Washington Post reported.
During the 2014 election, the former mayor was on the ballot as a running mate to incumbent Republican Gov. Sean Parnell, who lost to Bill Walker, the self-described first non-partisan governor. The other Dan Sullivan defeated Democrat Mark Begich for the Senate that year, according to The Post.
The former mayor led Alaska's largest city for two terms from 2009 to 2015, giving him name recognition that goes beyond sharing a name with the state's other sitting senator.
Ex-mayor Sullivan, who filed minutes before the deadline on Wednesday, said his and Murkowski's families have been "longtime friends," and he doesn't plan to
attack her performance, KTUU-TV reported.
"This is not based on anything other than wanting to make sure that conservative voters have a choice," he told the station.
He noted that Murkowski has a substantial financial lead and called his race "
David versus Goliath," the Alaska Dispatch News reported, adding that Murkowski's campaign had a war chest of more than $3.3 million as of March 31.
The Dispatch pointed out one difference between the two candidates: "He is anti-abortion, an area where Murkowski doesn't always please her party," but noted that Sullivan declined to discuss their ideological differences, saying his opponent has "done a really good job in some areas."
Ex-mayor Sullivan joked with reporters about using Sen. Dan Sullivan's old campaign signs.
Democratic challengers for the seat are UAA professor Edgar Blatchford and former legislator
Ray Metcalfe, Alaska Public Media reported.
Twitter users shared mirthful reactions to the duplicate names.
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