Dan Sullivan | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2015 | |
| United States Senator fromAlaska | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2015 Serving with Lisa Murkowski | |
| Preceded by | Mark Begich |
| Commissioner of theAlaska Department of Natural Resources | |
| In office December 6, 2010 – September 24, 2013 | |
| Governor | Sean Parnell |
| Preceded by | Thomas E. Irwin |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Balash |
| 27thAttorney General of Alaska | |
| In office June 17, 2009 – November 30, 2010 | |
| Governor | |
| Preceded by | Talis J. Colberg |
| Succeeded by | John J. Burns |
| 22ndAssistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs | |
| In office June 6, 2006 – January 1, 2009 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Earl Anthony Wayne |
| Succeeded by | Jose W. Fernandez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Daniel Scott Sullivan (1964-11-13)November 13, 1964 (age 60) Fairview Park, Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives |
|
| Education | |
| Website | Senate website Campaign website |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service |
|
| Rank | Colonel |
| Commands | 6th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company 4th Marine Division's Anti-Terrorism Battalion |
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan |
| Awards | |
Sullivan proposing an amendment for rail workers' contracts to avert a freight rail strike. Recorded December 1, 2022 | |
Daniel Scott Sullivan (born November 13, 1964) is an American politician, attorney, andMarine Corps veteran serving as thejuniorUnited States senator from the state ofAlaska since 2015. A member of theRepublican Party, Sullivan previously served as the commissioner of theAlaska Department of Natural Resources from 2010 to 2013, and as theAlaska Attorney General from 2009 to 2010.
Sullivan grew up in a suburb ofCleveland, Ohio and graduated fromCulver Academies inIndiana. He studiedeconomics atHarvard University, then earned joint foreign service andJuris Doctor degrees fromGeorgetown University. He was on active duty for theUnited States Marine Corps from 1993 to 1997, 2004 to 2006, and in 2009 and 2013.
Between 1997 and 1999, he clerked for judges on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and theAlaska Supreme Court. He worked as an attorney in private practice inAnchorage, Alaska, from 2000 to 2002. Sullivan moved toWashington, DC to work for theBush administration; he worked with theNational Economic Council and theNational Security Council and later served asAssistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs.
Sullivan was first elected to theU.S. Senate in2014, defeating Democratic incumbentMark Begich after winning the Republican primary againstMead Treadwell andJoe Miller. He was reelected in2020.[2]
Sullivan was born and raised inFairview Park, Ohio, the son of Sandra (née Simmons) and Thomas C. Sullivan. Sullivan's father was the president and CEO ofRPM International, a publicly traded multinational corporation with over 15,000 employees that was founded by Sullivan's grandfather, Frank C. Sullivan. Sullivan's brother, Frank C. Sullivan, became the president and CEO of RPM in 2002.[3]
Sullivan graduated from theCulver Military Academy inIndiana in 1983. He studiedeconomics atHarvard University, graduating in 1987 with aBachelor of Arts degreemagna cum laude. He went toGeorgetown University, where he studied at both theWalsh School of Foreign Service andGeorgetown University Law Center, receiving jointJuris Doctor andMaster of Science in Foreign Service degrees in 1993. Sullivan was a member of theGeorgetown Law Journal and earned aJuris Doctor degree withcum laude honors.[4]
Sullivan commissioned into theUnited States Marine Corps as anInfantryOfficer in 1993 after completing graduate school. He was on active duty from 1993 to 1997, when he transitioned to theU.S. Marine Corps Reserve as aRecon Marine. He was recalled to active duty three times: from 2004 to 2006, again in early 2009, and for a six-week tour in Afghanistan in July 2013. Sullivan was acolonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. He received theDefense Meritorious Service Medal.[5] In 2024, Sullivan retired.[6]
After leaving active duty in the Marines, Sullivan served as alaw clerk to JudgeAndrew Kleinfeld of theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1997 to 1998 and to Chief JusticeWarren Matthews of theAlaska Supreme Court from 1998 to 1999.[7] In 2000, Sullivan joined the Anchorage office of the law firmPerkins Coie, where he worked incommercial law andcorporate law. He joined theAlaska bar that same year.[7]
In 2002, Sullivan was selected to be aWhite House Fellow, where he served at the National Security Council. He then headed the International Economics Directorate of theNational Economic Council andNational Security Council staffs at theWhite House. He advised PresidentGeorge W. Bush and theNational Security Advisor and NEC chairman. He left the White House in 2004.[5]
In 2006, Bush appointed Sullivan asUnited States Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs. TheUnited States Senate unanimously confirmed Sullivan in May of that year. He served in this capacity until January 2009. While serving as Assistant Secretary of State he owned a house in Anchorage and continued to vote in Alaska elections by absentee ballot, while claimingBethesda, Maryland, as his primary residence for tax purposes.[8][9]
Alaska Attorney GeneralTalis Colberg resigned in February 2009 over theAlaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal scandal. GovernorSarah Palin nominatedWayne Anthony Ross for attorney general, but theAlaska Legislature rejected Ross. Palin nominated Sullivan.[10] He was sworn into office in June 2009, while the Alaska Legislature was out of session. The Alaska Legislature unanimously confirmed Sullivan's appointment on April 9, 2010.[11]
Sullivan was retained by GovernorSean Parnell. He stepped down as attorney general on December 5, 2010, to be replaced byJohn J. Burns.[12][13]
On November 18, 2010, shortly after being elected, Alaska GovernorSean Parnell appointed Sullivan as Commissioner of theAlaska Department of Natural Resources, replacing former Commissioner Thomas E. Irwin. In 2013, during his term in office, Sullivan was deployed to Afghanistan for six weeks, in his role as the executive officer of the 4th Marine Division's Anti-Terrorism Battalion.[14]
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On October 15, 2013, Sullivan announced his candidacy for theU.S. Senate seat held byDemocratic incumbentMark Begich in the 2014 election.[15] He was endorsed by theClub for Growth.[16] Begich had defeated longtime incumbentTed Stevens in the previous election. Stevens had filed for the election in 2009[17] following his exoneration,[18] and was widely expected to win, butdied in a plane crash on August 9, 2010.[19] This left the race for theRepublican nomination wide open.
On June 10, 2014, Sullivan offered Begich the Alaska Agreement.[20] This was a modified version of thePeople's Pledge. This tactic had previously been used in the Massachusetts 2012 U.S. Senate race betweenElizabeth Warren andScott Brown to drastically limit outside, third-party spending.[20] Begich rejected the agreement.[20] According toBallotpedia, outside spending in the race hit nearly $40 million.[21]
Despite former GovernorSarah Palin's late-race endorsement of 2010 party nomineeJoe Miller, Sullivan won the August 19 Republican primary with 40% of the vote to and Miller's 32% and Treadwell's 25%.[22][23]
On November 12, 2014, theAssociated Press[24] andCNN[25] declared that Sullivan had defeated Begich in the general election by about 8,000 votes—48.6% to 45.4%. At the time, there were approximately 31,000 votes left to count and Begich refused to concede.[26] Begich eventually conceded on November 17.[27] Final results showed that Sullivan won by 6,014 votes out of 282,400 cast, 47.96% to 45.83%.[28][29]
In the 2020 election, after running unopposed in the Republican primary election, Sullivan faced independent candidateAl Gross, an orthopedic surgeon and former commercial fisherman who had been nominated by the Alaska Democratic Party. The race was considered "unexpectedly close," with some polls indicating that the two candidates were neck-and-neck.[30] Gross touted his "deep roots" in the state and published several campaign videos that received national attention.[31] In addition to theDemocratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's funding of Gross's candidacy, Gross reportedly did "an excellent job fundraising", outraising Sullivan between July 1 and the end of September 2019.[32]
While the race was considered "too early to call" for several days after the November 3 election, Gross called Sullivan to concede on November 13.[33] Ultimately, Sullivan defeated Gross 54% to 41%, withAlaskan Independence Party nominee John Howe receiving nearly 5% of the vote.[34]
Sullivan was sworn into office on January 6, 2015, byVice PresidentJoe Biden.
Source:[35]
According toFiveThirtyEight, Sullivan voted in line with PresidentDonald Trump's position 91.5% of the time.[36] According to theAmerican Conservative Union's Center for Legislative Accountability, Sullivan had a lifetime conservative rating of 79.5.[37] Americans for Democratic Action gave Sullivan a zero on their liberalism score in 2019.[38]
Sullivan is a self-described "pro-life Catholic" and supported theJune 2022 overturning ofRoe v. Wade. He supports improving child care and adoption as alternatives toabortion.[39]
Sullivan opposed Trump during the 2016 presidential race, releasing a statement that said, "We need national leaders who can lead by example" on issues of sexual assault and violence against women. Sullivan added, "The reprehensible revelations about Donald Trump have shown that he can't. Therefore, I am withdrawing my support for his candidacy."[40]
Sullivan voted to acquit Trump at the conclusion of his firstimpeachment trial.[41][42] During Sullivan's reelection bid, Trump endorsed him, saying Sullivan supported Trump's agenda.[43]
By October 6, 2020, Sullivan announced that he would be voting for Trump, saying the choice was "very clear".[44] Sullivan also voted to acquit Trump during hissecond impeachment trial.[45]
In 2025, Sullivan enthusiastically defended the policies of thesecond Trump administration, includingDOGE's attempted spending cuts.[46]
Sullivan rejects that there is ascientific consensus on climate change.[47][48] He has argued that "the verdict is still out on the human contribution to climate change"; the scientific consensus is that human activity is a primary contributor to climate change.[48]
In October 2020, theEnvironmental Investigation Agency recorded and published conversations between undercover actors, who pretended to be potential investors inPebble Mine in Alaska, and corporate executives. In the recordings, the executives made clear that they intended to expand the mine substantially beyond their previously stated intentions, and that they believed Sullivan would surreptitiously support this project after the election. In response, Sullivan expressed his opposition to the project.[49][50] An investigation byPopular Information found that besides the $10,000 Sullivan received from Pebble employees and executives, the total rose to $34,000 when contributions from Northern Dynasty were included.[49] Sullivan said he planned to donate campaign contributions from Pebble Mine executives to charity.[51] In January 2023, the EPA essentially blocked the project, using its power to restrict development to protect watersheds.[52] In May 2023, President Biden celebrated the EPA's veto in a Rose Garden meeting with 200 opponents of the project, including manyBristol Bay tribes and nationwide environmental organizations.[53]
Sullivan lobbied the Trump administration to open up theTongass National Forest in Alaska to logging and other forms of development.[54][55] In October 2020, the Trump administration permitted such projects, stripping protections that had been in place for nearly two decades.[55]
In June 2024, Sullivan added arider to theNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 that would have required theBureau of Land Management (BLM) to grant theAmbler Access Project right-of-way within 30 days of the act's passage, citing national security interests. The BLM had previously halted the project through aSupplemental Environmental Impact Statement.[56] Sullivan's amendment was not included in the legislation's final version.[57]
In July 2017, Sullivan co-sponsored theIsrael Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which would have made it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel andIsraeli settlements in theoccupied territories if protesting actions by the Israeli government.[58][59]
On June 6, 2021, Sullivan and SenatorsTammy Duckworth andChristopher Coons visitedTaipei in anU.S. Air ForceC-17 Globemaster IIItransport to meetPresidentTsai Ing-wen andMinisterJoseph Wu during thepandemic outbreak ofTaiwan to announce PresidentJoe Biden's donation plan of 750,000COVID-19 vaccines included in the globalCOVAX program.[60][61][62]
On March 14, 2025, Sullivan warnedBritish Columbia not to "mess with Alaska", even as state Republicans reaffirmed their friendship with the province. He proposed cutting off ferry service toVictoria andNanaimo, noting that this was done during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[63]
In the2014 Senate campaign in Alaska, theNRAPolitical Victory Fund declined to make an endorsement. The NRA gave Begich an "A−" grade and Sullivan an "AQ" rating, the "Q" indicating the rating was qualified because Sullivan had no voting record at the time.[64][65]
Sullivan opposed theAffordable Care Act and has voted to repeal it.[66][67][68]
In 2016, Sullivan defended the Republican refusal to hold a hearing for PresidentBarack Obama's Supreme Court nominee,Merrick Garland, on the basis that the nomination was made "in the midst of an important national election." Sullivan said it was not "about the individual, it's about the principle" and "Alaskans deserve to have a voice in that direction through their vote, and we will ensure that they have one."[69][70] In October 2020, in the last few weeks before the2020 presidential election, Sullivan defended Trump's decision to nominate a Supreme Court justice—saying he was "well within his constitutional authority"—and voted to confirm the nominee,Amy Coney Barrett.[69][70][71]
In 2017, afterNorth Korean leaderKim Jong-un threatened the United States with anintercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) strike and conducted anICBM test in which its missile landed about 200 miles (320 km) off the coast of Japan, Sullivan called for improvements to the U.S.missile defense system.[72]
Sullivan has not made social issues a major part of his platform.[73] He opposes abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or threat to the life of the mother.[74] In 2022, he voted for theRespect for Marriage Act, along with 11 other Senate Republicans.[74]
Sullivan introduced the bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation, theFIRST STEP Act, but opposed the act after incurring amendments by the House of Representatives. The amended bill passed the Senate 87–12 on December 18, 2018.[75] Trump signed the bill into law 3 days later.
Sullivan has cosponsored the bipartisanSTATES Act proposed in the115th U.S. Congress byMassachusetts SenatorElizabeth Warren andColorado SenatorCory Gardner that would exempt individuals or corporations in compliance with state cannabis laws from federal enforcement of theControlled Substances Act.[76]
In December 2020, during his lame-duck period, Trump vetoed theNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.[77] The veto left newCoast Guardcutters that were scheduled to be homeported in Alaska without port facilities to maintain them.[77] Sullivan questioned the veto, because it put in question whether the cutters could be placed in Alaska.
On May 28, 2021, Sullivan voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the2021 United States Capitol attack.[78]
Sullivan was among the 31 Senate Republicans who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.[79]
While at Georgetown, Sullivan met fellow law student Julie Fate, a staffer for U.S. SenatorTed Stevens. Sullivan and Fate married and had three daughters. Fate is the daughter of retired dentist and formerAlaska State RepresentativeHugh "Bud" Fate andMary Jane Fate, who was once the co-chair of theAlaska Federation of Natives.[5]
Sullivan is aRoman Catholic.[80]
As of 2018, according to OpenSecrets.org, Sullivan's net worth was more than $2.3 million.[81]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Sullivan | 44,740 | 40.05 | |
| Republican | Joe Miller | 35,904 | 32.14 | |
| Republican | Mead Treadwell | 27,807 | 24.90 | |
| Republican | John M. Jaramillo | 3,246 | 2.91 | |
| Total votes | 113,752 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Sullivan | 135,445 | 47.96 | |
| Democratic | Mark Begich (incumbent) | 129,431 | 45.83 | |
| Libertarian | Mark S. Fish | 10,512 | 3.72 | |
| Independent | Ted Gianoutsos | 5,636 | 2.00 | |
| Write-in | 1,376 | 0.49 | ||
| Total votes | 282,400 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Sullivan (incumbent) | 191,112 | 53.90 | |
| Independent | Al Gross | 146,068 | 41.19 | |
| Independence | John Howe | 16,806 | 4.74 | |
| Write-in | 601 | 0.17 | ||
| Total votes | 354,587 | 100.0% | ||
Sitka was selected as a home port for one of the six vessels. And while the actual ship itself doesn't appear in jeopardy, there might not be anyplace to put it, if the veto stands.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Attorney General of Alaska 2009–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromAlaska (Class 2) 2014,2020 | Most recent |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | United States Senator (Class 2) from Alaska 2015–present Served alongside:Lisa Murkowski | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theJoint China Commission 2025–present | |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | Order of precedence of the United States as United States Senator | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States senators by seniority 56th | |
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