Alaska primary voters on Tuesday advanced Sen. Dan Sullivan and his Democratic foe Mary Peltola to the general election in a race that could decide the balance of power in Washington.
Mr. Sullivan is seeking his third term in the Senate, and Ms. Peltola, a former congresswoman, is hoping to unseat him in the conservative-leaning state.
Ms. Peltola came out on top of the primary with 48% of the vote counted by Wednesday morning, and Mr. Sullivan was in second at 42.8%.
Alaska has a nonpartisan primary system in which the top four candidates advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation.
In an unusual set of circumstances, another candidate named Dan Sullivan also ran in the primary and, as of Wednesday morning, appeared likely to advance to the general election.
That candidate, who appeared on the ballot as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., won 2.4% of the vote.
The incumbent has accused Dan Jr. of trying to mislead Alaska voters and split the vote in favor of Ms. Peltola.
Dan Jr., a retired schoolteacher, filed to run as a Republican and told the Petersburg Pilot he has “every right to stand up and do this.”
The Alaska Division of Elections was ordered by the state’s Supreme Court to keep the challenger’s name on the ballot, but was allowed to specify that Sen. Sullivan is the incumbent in order to avoid confusion.
The ballot did not list the challenger as a Republican, despite his having filed as one.
Tuesday’s results were strong for Ms. Peltola, who previously won two U.S. House races in the state.
“Tonight shows Alaskans are fired up and ready for an independent voice in the Senate,” wrote Ms. Peltola.
The Washington Times reached out to Sen. Sullivan’s campaign for comment.
Strong performances in Alaska’s unusual primary system don’t always translate to victory in the general election.
For example, Ms. Peltola won almost 51% of the statewide House primary vote in 2024 but ultimately lost to Republican candidate Nick Begich III by over 2% in the general election.
The 2026 Senate race is a closely watched battle, rated a toss-up by the Cook Political Report. Democrats need to net four additional seats to gain control of the Senate.
In Tuesday’s House primary, Mr. Begich advanced, having won over 46% of the vote counted as of Wednesday morning.
The runner-up, nonpartisan candidate Bill Hill, also advanced with 31% of the vote.
The Democratic front-runner, Matt Schultz, ended his campaign before the primary and was in third place Wednesday morning, as his name remained on the ballot.
In the gubernatorial primary, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins advanced to the general with 21.7% of the vote counted as of Wednesday morning.
In second place, another Democrat, Tom Begich, also advanced with 20% of the vote.
On Wednesday morning, several Republicans trailed the two Democrats in the crowded primary, but The Associated Press had not yet declared that one would advance.
Tom Begich is Nick Begich III’s uncle, and both belong to a family that includes multiple politicians.
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