The curious case of Dan Sullivan vs Dan Sullivan at the US primaries

US primary elections swamped with accusations of funny business Fri 19 Jun 2026 at 4:48am If your social media algorithms have been even slightly infiltrated by US politics, you may have heard chatter about "the primaries". It's a big year for stateside voters, and these races are just the beginning. Primary elections are the first step in electing who represents voters across the country in the House of Representatives and the Senate. So here's what to know about the primary elections, from the basics to the downright quirky. Aren't Americans going to the polls later this year? Yes, they are. The midterm elections, which decide the make-up of the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate, are slated for November 3. That election will be a big deal, as it will decide how much power US President Donald Trump has to get laws passed. All the politicians who will be running for seats during the midterms are fighting for their places on the ballots right now. In a nutshell, that's what the primary elections are! Political parties use them to select candidates for a general election in most states. So, how do primary elections work? The majority of primaries go ahead between May and August. Who can vote in them depends on the type of primary, which differs between states. Open primaries Read moreVoters of any political affiliation can vote in the primary of any party. For example, a voter registered as a Democrat can choose to vote in the Republican primary. They can only vote in one party's primary, though. Closed primaries Read moreHere, voters can only vote in the primary of the party they are registered with. For example, a voter registered as a Republican may only vote in the Republican primary. Semi-closed primaries Read moreIn semi-closed primaries, voters without party affiliation may choose which party's primary they want to vote in. Registered voters may only vote in the primary of the party they are affiliated with, though. Tell me about some of the races With more than 400 congressional seats up for grabs this year, you can imagine the sheer number of primary races playing out right now. For the most part, how they play out is fairly unremarkable, especially for us here in Australia. But some races have taken unusual turns. The one everyone's talking about Democrats are the favourites to have control of the House of Representatives when the midterms are said and done. But flipping the Senate will be more of an uphill climb. The party would need to win at least four seats, and most of those up for grabs are in Republican-leaning areas. That brings us to the north-easternmost state of Maine. Analysts say it's a seat Democrats have a better shot at turning blue, even though the current senator, Republican Susan Collins, has represented it since 1997. Democrats are pinning their hopes on newcomer Graham Platner, a military veteran and oyster farmer who easily won the primary election on June 9. But elements of his personal history have left some in the party chewing their nails. It was revealed last year that he had a tattoo of a skull-and-crossbones symbol adopted by a Nazi parliamentary unit. His wife internally flagged sexually explicit texts he sent to multiple women last year as a campaign liability, and former girlfriends have told the New York Times he at times displayed volatile, troubling behaviour toward them. Mr Platner has apologised for the behaviour, and said he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression following combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he did not know the tattoo resembled a Nazi insignia and had it covered up last year. Progressive backers, including Senator Bernie Sanders, have stuck with him and no prominent figures in the party have called for him to drop out. Still, some party members worry Mr Platner's past could lose them the vital seat. US President Donald Trump has attempted to leverage the perceived weakness, lacing into Mr Platner on Wednesday. "He's a thug, and they're trying to make excuses for him," Mr Trump said of top Democrats. "I mean, he's worse than any human being that's ever run for office, probably." The president has previously faced allegations of misconduct with women, was once caught on audio bragging about grabbing women "by the pussy", and was found liable by a New York jury for sexual abuse. The tale of two Dans In the north-westernmost state of Alaska, Republican Dan Sullivan hopes to retain his Senate seat at the midterms. To do so, he'll have to beat Republican candidate Dan Sullivan. That's not a typo. There really are two Republican Dan Sullivans in this race. All that will separate them on the ballot is their middle initials: an S for the incumbent and a J for the challenger. Their campaign branding is almost identical, too, with both employing similar colours, fonts and star iconography. If that's not confusing enough for voters, the drama could continue all the way to November. The state's primary is slated for August 18, but its rules allow the top four vote-getters to advance to the midterm, even if they're registered with the same party. Republicans fear Dan J Sullivan could end up in the final four and confuse voters enough that neither gets the majority, handing Democratic candidate Mary Peltola an easy win. Dan S Sullivan accused Democrats of recruiting Dan J Sullivan for that express purpose. "This is just corruption," he told CNN. "They're trying to cheat. There's no plausible explanation." For his part, Dan J Sullivan insisted he was not trying to trick voters and denied any connections with Ms Peltola's campaign. "I think I'm doing what most Americans would think would be a patriotic thing to do when you're unsatisfied with the status quo: you stand up and say, I'm going to fight for things I believe that are going to make my community better," he said. On Monday, the state's top election officials determined Dan J Sullivan was not eligible to appear on the ballot because his candidacy was "not filed in good faith", but "with the purpose of confusing or misleading the electorate". Dan J Sullivan has 30 days to appeal. Running to drop out In Nebraska's Senate race, the winner of the Democratic primary has no intention of becoming a senator. Cindy Burbank, a 62-year-old retired pharmacy technician, vowed to drop out of the midterm election if she won the party nomination. She wants to clear a path for independent candidate Dan Osborn, who has been backed by the Nebraska branch of the Democratic Party. So why did she run in the first place? To ensure William Forbes, a 79-year-old pastor who also ran in the Democratic primary, wouldn't secure the nomination. Ms Burbank, alongside other Democratic leaders, accused Mr Forbes of being a GOP "plant" running to draw votes away from Mr Osborn and secure a win for the incumbent Republican senator, Pete Ricketts. To evidence her claim, Ms Burbank cited an interview Mr Forbes gave CNN in March, in which he confirmed he previously voted for Mr Trump, and a series of pro-life posts he made on social media. Meanwhile, Republicans argued Mr Osborn was a Democrat in all but name. Nebraska Democrats haven't made that strategy a secret. At the 2024 presidential election, Mr Trump won in Nebraska by about 20 percentage points. Democrats "have gotten out of touch with some of the issues that voters in the Midwest care about, because our leaders are more reflective of coastal states," Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, told The New York Times. She said an alliance with independent voters was "the only viable path for us right now for a federal race". Ms Burbank won the Democratic primary on May 12, but she might need to sue the state to fulfil her election promise to drop out of the midterms. According to the Nebraska Examiner, the state's top election official has reportedly sought legal guidance from Nebraska Attorney-General Mike Hilgers on whether Ms Burbank can be kept on the November ballot. If her request to withdraw is denied, media outlets are tipping a legal battle will follow. ABC/Reuters