A campaign that has already been among the wildest Senate races in recent memory produced another wacky moment on Saturday.
The likely-to-be-viral moment happened when Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) squared off with Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) at a debate in Kodiak, AK which focused on the state’s fishing industry. During a lightning round in which the two candidates were given paddles to signify their answers to yes-or-no questions, Sullivan — at one point — had his head down appeared to miss a question as he was shuffling through papers.
“Do the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and NOAA fisheries adequately consider impacts on subsistence users, salmon migration, habitat, and indigenous ways of life?” A moderator asked.
Peltola quickly raised her paddle to signify “no.” Sullivan, though, had to be jostled back to attention by another moderator.
“Senator Sullivan, yes or no?” The moderator asked.
Sullivan then dropped his papers and looked up, but clearly needed some guidance on how to answer the question. So he turned to Peltola and looked at her paddle. Then, he too displayed a “no” response.
The crowd laughed, as Sullivan sheepishly said “sorry” and smiled. Peltola promptly crowed about the moment on social media.
“Hppy to help, Dan,” Peltola wrote on X. “Alaskans deserve a senator who knows where they stand.”
Dan Sullivan is running not only against Peltola but against a man who is also named Dan Sullivan. Senator Sullivan and his allies, including President Donald Trump, have accused the second Dan Sullivan of being a Democratic plant meant to siphon votes from the first Dan Sullivan. But Senator Dan Sullivan got a big boost in his quest to defeat non-Senator Dan Sullivan, when former Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan endorsed Senator Dan Sullivan.
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