Red state investigating GOP Senator's primary challenger for using his name: report

A candidate running against a Republican senator has to face an investigation from the lieutenant governor's office, all because of his name, according to local reports.

Dan Sullivan Jr., a former U.S. Forest Service employee and elementary school teacher, is running against incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK).

Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (R) wrote in a letter to Sullivan Jr. that the state's Elections Division has to investigate whether he's using his name as an advantage, according to reporting by a local TV station. She brought up allegations that he's running as part of an effort to confuse voters.

"The Division must determine whether your declaration of candidacy was properly filed with good-faith intention to serve, and in the event it is, how your name should appear on the primary election ballot to avoid voter confusion," Dahlstrom wrote. "I'm troubled by the allegation that you filed for office in coordination with another campaign with the intention of confusing Alaskan voters in a way that will benefit one candidate over another."

Sen. Sullivan has accused Sullivan Jr. of being a plant designed to split the vote in Alaska's open primary, telling CNN's Manu Raju, "They are trying to cheat," and "There is no plausible explanation for what this guy is doing."