Daniel Scott Sullivan (born November 13, 1964) is an American politician, attorney, and Marine Corps veteran serving as the junior United States senator from Alaska, a seat he has held since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2010 to 2013 as commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and from 2009 to 2010 as Alaska Attorney General.

Sullivan grew up in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from Culver Academies in Indiana. He studied economics at Harvard University, then earned joint foreign service and Juris Doctor degrees from Georgetown University. He was on active duty for the United States Marine Corps from 1993 to 1997, 2004 to 2006, and in 2009 and 2013.

Between 1997 and 1999, he clerked for judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Alaska Supreme Court. He worked as an attorney in private practice in Anchorage, Alaska, from 2000 to 2002. Sullivan moved to Washington, D.C., to work for the Bush administration; he worked with the National Economic Council and the National Security Council and later served as Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs.

Sullivan was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014, defeating Democratic incumbent Mark Begich after winning the Republican primary against Mead Treadwell and Joe Miller. He was reelected in 2020 and is running for reelection in 2026.

Early life and education

Sullivan was born and raised in Fairview Park, Ohio, the son of Sandra (née Simmons) and Thomas C. Sullivan. Sullivan's father was the president and CEO of RPM 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.

Sullivan graduated from the Culver Military Academy in Indiana in 1983. He studied economics at Harvard University, graduating in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude. He went to Georgetown University, where he studied at both the Walsh School of Foreign Service and Georgetown University Law Center, receiving joint Juris Doctor and Master of Science in Foreign Service degrees in 1993. Sullivan was a member of the Georgetown Law Journal and earned a Juris Doctor degree with cum laude honors.Biography , community.adn.com; accessed November 6, 2014.

Early career Military service Sullivan commissioned into the United States Marine Corps as an Infantry Officer in 1993 after completing graduate school. He was on active duty from 1993 to 1997, when he transitioned to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve as a Recon 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 a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. He received the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. In 2024, Sullivan retired.

Early legal career After leaving active duty in the Marines, Sullivan served as a law clerk to Judge Andrew Kleinfeld of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1997 to 1998 and to Chief Justice Warren Matthews of the Alaska Supreme Court from 1998 to 1999. In 2000, Sullivan joined the Anchorage office of the law firm Perkins Coie, where he worked in commercial law and corporate law. He joined the Alaska bar that same year.

White House and State Department In 2002, Sullivan was selected to be a White House Fellow, where he served at the National Security Council. He then headed the International Economics Directorate of the National Economic Council and National Security Council staffs at the White House. He advised President George W. Bush and the National Security Advisor and NEC chairman. He left the White House in 2004.

In 2006, Bush appointed Sullivan as United States Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs. The United 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 claiming Bethesda, Maryland, as his primary residence for tax purposes.

Alaska Attorney General Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg resigned in February 2009 over the Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal scandal. Governor Sarah Palin nominated Wayne Anthony Ross for attorney general, but the Alaska Legislature rejected Ross. Palin nominated Sullivan.Article 3 - The Executive, law.justia.com; accessed September 9, 2016. 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.

Sullivan was retained by Governor Sean Parnell. He stepped down as attorney general on December 5, 2010, to be replaced by John J. Burns.Alaska Attorney General John Burns begins work, Fairbanks Daily News Miner, December 27, 2010.Jessica M. Karmasek,Burns is Alaska's new attorney general, Legal NewsLine, December 1, 2010; retrieved September 9, 2016.

Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources On November 18, 2010, shortly after being elected, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell appointed Sullivan as Commissioner of the Alaska 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."DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan Deployed to Afghanistan" , adn.com, July 22, 2013; accessed November 6, 2014.

U.S. Senate

Elections

2014

On October 15, 2013, Sullivan announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democratic incumbent Mark Begich in the 2014 election. He was endorsed by the Club for Growth. Begich had narrowly defeated longtime incumbent Ted Stevens in the previous election. Stevens had filed for the election in 2009 following his exoneration, and was widely expected to win, but died in a plane crash on August 9, 2010. This left the race for the Republican nomination wide open.

On June 10, 2014, Sullivan offered Begich the Alaska Agreement. This was a modified version of the People's Pledge. This tactic had previously been used in the Massachusetts 2012 U.S. Senate race between Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown to drastically limit outside, third-party spending. Begich rejected the agreement. According to Ballotpedia, outside spending in the race hit nearly $40 million.

Despite former Governor Sarah Palin's late-race endorsement of 2010 party nominee Joe Miller, Sullivan won the August 19 Republican primary with 40% of the vote to Miller's 32% and Treadwell's 25%."Sullivan declares victory in high- takes GOP Senate primary", Alaska Dispatch News, Dermot Cole, August 20, 2014; retrieved August 22, 2014.

On November 12, 2014, the Associated Press and CNNPeligri, Justin. Republican challenger defeats Begich in Alaska Senate race, CNN, November 12, 2014. 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.Walshe, Shushanna. Alaska Senate Race: Why Democrat Mark Begich Refuses To Concede, ABC News, November 12, 2014. Begich eventually conceded on November 17.Joseph, Cameron. Begich concedes Alaska Senate race, The Hill, November 17, 2014. Final results showed that Sullivan won by 6,014 votes out of 282,400 cast, 47.96% to 45.83%.

2020

In the 2020 election, after running unopposed in the Republican primary election, Sullivan faced independent candidate Al 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. Gross touted his "deep roots" in the state and published several campaign videos that received national attention. In addition to the Democratic 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.

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. Ultimately, Sullivan defeated Gross 54% to 41%, with Alaskan Independence Party nominee John Howe receiving nearly 5% of the vote.

2026

Sullivan is running for reelection in 2026. In the general election, he faces Democratic nominee Mary Peltola and independent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. The election will be conducted using instant-runoff voting.

Tenure Sullivan was sworn into office on January 6, 2015, by Vice President Joe Biden.

119th United States Congress committee assignments Source:

Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Airland Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support (chairman) Subcommittee on Seapower Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Environment and Public Works Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Caucuses Senate Republican Conference Senate Taiwan Caucus

Political positions

Donald Trump Sullivan opposed Donald Trump during the 2016 United States presidential election, 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."

Sullivan voted to acquit Trump in his first impeachment trial. During Sullivan's reelection bid, Trump endorsed him, saying Sullivan supported Trump's agenda.

On October 5, 2020, Sullivan announced that he would vote for Trump, saying the choice was "very clear". Sullivan also voted to acquit Trump in his second impeachment trial.

On May 28, 2021, Sullivan voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the 2021 United States Capitol attack.

Sullivan criticized the federal classified documents case against Trump in 2023. In 2024, he said the verdict in the prosecution of Donald Trump in New York "sets a dangerous precedent and pushes our great nation even further into banana republic territory."

In his 2025 annual address to the Alaska Legislature, Sullivan endorsed many policies of the second Trump administration, including DOGE's proposed spending cuts. Of DOGE's impact on the employment of federal workers, he said: "These are difficult decisions. Job losses are always difficult on the family, in communities, especially in tight-knit states like ours. There has been a successful historical precedent. President Clinton launched the National Partnership for Reinventing Government during his first year in office. Its goal was to dramatically shrink the government and make it more efficient, which he did during his presidency. That initiative saved over $108 billion, and it eliminated over 426,000 federal jobs." Sullivan voted for the Rescissions Act of 2025 that Trump requested congressional approval of. The Act defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supported public radio and television stations. It also cut foreign aid.

Sullivan voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), Trump's budget and tax bill, in July 2025.

In a June 2026 vote-a-rama, Sullivan voted with Senate Democrats and two other Senate Republicans for an amendment to ban the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice. The amendment did not pass.

Environment

Sullivan rejects that there is a scientific consensus on climate change. 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.