Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and Gerald L. Heikes were in position to claim the remaining two spots in the general election. However, the remaining two spots remained too early to call at the time of this article’s publication. This means that two candidates named Dan Sullivan will appear on the November ballot.

Both Sullivan and Peltola were widely expected to proceed to the general election, but their respective shares of the vote could offer an early indication of the competitiveness of a race that has attracted millions of dollars in outside spending and could help determine control of the Senate.

Polling ahead of the primary showed a tight race between the two leading candidates. A New York Times-Siena University poll conducted in July showed Sullivan narrowly leading Peltola 47% to 45%, a result within the poll’s margin of error.

Other surveys have shown Peltola with a slight advantage. Alaska Survey Research found Peltola leading Sullivan 49% to 44% in March and 49% to 43% in April.

The competitive polling has helped put Alaska firmly on the national Senate map. The Cook Political Report rates the race a “toss up” as Democrats look to Alaska as one of their opportunities to gain the four seats needed to take control of the Senate.

Peltola has sought to keep some distance from the national Democratic Party as she campaigns in a state that President Donald Trump carried by 13 points in 2024. That approach was on display last week when Peltola’s campaign rejected an unsolicited fundraising appeal from former Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris’s political action committee sent an email urging supporters to donate to Peltola, describing her as key to helping Democrats regain control of the Senate. Peltola’s campaign said she was not seeking endorsements from figures outside Alaska and remained focused on the state.

National Republicans have increasingly invested in defending Sullivan. The Senate Leadership Fund announced this month that it would spend another $2 million in Alaska, bringing its total investment in the race against Peltola to $17 million.

Outside groups have also spent more than $2 million promoting little-known or perennial candidates in an effort to influence which candidates claim the remaining two spots in the top four and shape the field Sullivan and Peltola could face in November.

Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system could limit the effect of those efforts. In November, voters will rank the four candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest-performing candidate will be eliminated and those ballots redistributed according to voters’ subsequent choices. The process continues until one candidate surpasses 50%.

Tuesday’s primary also included an unusual twist: Sullivan shared the ballot with another Republican candidate named Dan Sullivan.

The second Dan Sullivan, a retired teacher and former U.S. Forest Service employee, was allowed to remain on the ballot after a judge rejected an effort by the incumbent senator to have him removed.

The primary is only the opening round of a race expected to receive intense national attention over the next three months. Peltola is seeking to unseat Sullivan in a state that has traditionally favored Republicans in federal elections but where she has already demonstrated an ability to win statewide.

ALASKA SENATE ELECTION POLLS SHOW NAIL-BITER RACE BETWEEN MARY PELTOLA AND DAN SULLIVAN 

Peltola won Alaska’s at-large House seat in a 2022 special election and won a full term later that year before losing reelection in 2024. For Sullivan, Tuesday’s result marked the beginning of his bid to secure another six-year term in the Senate.

The November contest is expected to be among a small number of races that could determine control of the Senate, making the primary results an early test of the coalitions Sullivan and Peltola will need to assemble this fall.