Daniel Scott Sullivan (born November 13, 1964) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Alaska since 2015. A member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

, Sullivan previously served as the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources from 2010 to 2013, and as the

Alaska Attorney General The Alaska Attorney General is the chief legal advisor to the Government of Alaska, government of the State of Alaska and to its List of Governors of Alaska, governor. The Attorney General is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Alaska L ...

from 2009 to 2010. Sullivan grew up in a suburb of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He studied economics at Harvard University, then earned joint foreign service and

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degrees from Georgetown University. He was in 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. After working as an attorney in private practice in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

from 2000 to 2002, Sullivan moved to Maryland to work for the Bush administration; he worked with the National Economic Council and the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

and later served as Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs. Sullivan ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. Senate seat held by

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

incumbent Mark Begich. In August 2014, he won the Republican primary, defeating Alaska Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Senate nominee Joe Miller. Sullivan defeated Begich in the general election, 47.96% to 45.83%, a margin of 6,014 votes out of 282,400 cast. He was reelected in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, defeating independent challenger Al Gross by about 13 percentage points.Axelrod, Tal & Zack Budryk
Sullivan wins reelection in Alaska, giving Republicans 50 seats in Senate
''

The Hill ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'', November 11, 2020.

Early life and education

Sullivan was born and raised in Fairview Park, Ohio, the son of Sandra (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Simmons) and Thomas C. Sullivan. Sullivan's father is 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 graduated from Culver Military Academy in Indiana in 1983. He then studied economics at Harvard University, graduating in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts degree ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

''. He then went to Georgetown University, where he jointly attended the Walsh School of Foreign Service and the Georgetown University Law Center, receiving joint

and Master of Science in Foreign Service degrees in 1993. Sullivan was a member of the '' Georgetown Law Journal'' and received his

degree with ''cum laude'' honors.

Early career

Military service

Sullivan joined the United States Marine Corps in 1993 after completing his law and foreign service degrees. He was on active duty from 1993 to 1997, when he transitioned to the

U.S. Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned pe ...

. Sullivan has spent several years with a reconnaissance battalion based in Anchorage, and has since been 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 is currently a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. He is a recipient of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

Early legal career

After leaving active duty in the Marines, Sullivan served as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

to judge Andrew Kleinfeld of the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

from 1997 to 1998 and to chief justice

Warren Matthews Warren W. Matthews, Jr. (born April 5, 1939) is an American lawyer and jurist who was a justice of the Alaska Supreme Court from 1977 to 2009. Matthews served as the 8th and 12th chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. His service from May 19 ...

of the Alaska Supreme Court from 1998 to 1999.Profile
, adn.com, April 19, 2014; accessed November 7, 2014. In 2000, Sullivan joined the Anchorage office of the law firm Perkins Coie, where he worked in

commercial law Commercial law, also known as mercantile law or trade law, is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and business engaged in commerce, merchandising, trade, and sales. It is often considered to be a branc ...

and corporate law. He joined the Alaska bar that same year.

White House and State Department

In 2002, Sullivan headed the International Economics Directorate of the National Economic Council and

staffs at the White House. He advised President George W. Bush and the

National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

and NEC chairman. He left the White House in 2004. In 2006, Bush appointed Sullivan 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.Profile
adn.com; accessed November 6, 2014.

Alaska Attorney General

Talis Colberg Talis James Colberg (born August 25, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician who was appointed by Governor Sarah Palin as the seventeenth attorney general of Alaska on December 13, 2006. Colberg resigned in February 2009 over controversy over ...

resigned in February 2009 over the

Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal The Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal, also known as Troopergate, involves the possibly illegal July 2008 dismissal of the Alaskan Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan by Republican Governor Sarah Palin. A complaint alleged that Pali ...

scandal. Governor

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

nominated

Wayne Anthony Ross Wayne Anthony Ross (born February 25, 1943) is an American attorney residing in Alaska. In 2009, Ross was nominated to be Alaska Attorney General by then Governor Sarah Palin. His nomination was rejected by the Alaska Legislature on April 16, 200 ...

for attorney general, but the Alaska Legislature rejected Ross. Palin then 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.
, adn.com; accessed November 6, 2014. Sullivan, who had been retained by Governor

Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources

On November 18, 2010, shortly after being elected, Alaska Governor

Sean Parnell Sean Randall Parnell (born November 19, 1962) is an American attorney and politician. He succeeded Sarah Palin in July 2009 to become the tenth governor of Alaska and served until 2014.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.

U.S. Senate

Elections

2014

On October 15, 2013, Sullivan announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat held by

incumbent Mark Begich in the 2014 election. He was endorsed by the Club for Growth. Begich had 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 Scott Brown may refer to: Sportsmen *Scott Brown (American football), American college football coach of Kentucky State * Scott Brown (baseball) (born 1956), former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds *Scott Brown (footballer, bor ...

to drastically limit outside, third-party spending. Begich rejected the agreement. According to

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

, outside spending in the race hit nearly $40 million. Despite former Governor

's late-race endorsement of 2010 party nominee Joe Miller, Sullivan won the August 19 Republican primary with 40% of the vote to and Miller's 32% and Treadwell's 25%. On November 12, 2014, the Associated PressBohrer, Becky. Voted yes for Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh 106/18. sSenator Sullivan's father's company RPM made parts for Boeing during the Reagan era
Republican Dan Sullivan wins Senate race in Alaska
, '' Associated Press'', November 12, 2014. and CNN 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. Begich eventually conceded on November 17. 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.

Tenure

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

Committee assignments

Caucuses

* Senate Republican Conference

Political positions

According to ''FiveThirtyEight'', Sullivan voted in line with President Donald Trump's position 91.5% of the time. According to the American Conservative Union's Center for Legislative Accountability, Sullivan had a lifetime conservative rating of 79.5. Americans for Democratic Action gave Sullivan a zero on their liberalism score in 2019.

Abortion

Sullivan is a self-described "pro-life Catholic" and supported the June 2022 overturning of ''Roe v. Wade''. He supports improving child care and adoption as alternatives to abortion.

Donald Trump

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." Sullivan voted to acquit Trump at the conclusion of his first impeachment trial. During Sullivan's reelection bid, Trump endorsed him, saying Sullivan supported Trump's agenda. By October 6, 2020, Sullivan announced that he would be voting for Trump, saying the choice was "very clear." Sullivan also voted to acquit Trump during his second impeachment trial.

Environment

Sullivan rejects that there is a

scientific consensus on climate change There is a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific org ...

. 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. In October 2020, the Environmental Investigation Agency recorded and published conversations between undercover actors, who pretended to be potential investors in

Pebble Mine Pebble Mine is the common name of a proposed copper-gold- molybdenum mining project in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska, near Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark. As of November 2020 the mine developer, Northern Dynasty Minerals, was seeking ...

in Alaska, and corporate executives. In these recordings, the corporate executives make clear that they intend to expand the mine far beyond previously stated intentions, and that they believe Sullivan would quietly support this project after the election. In response, Sullivan expressed his opposition to the project. Sullivan has stated that he plans to donate campaign contributions received from Pebble Mine executives to charity. Sullivan has lobbied the Trump administration to open up the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to logging and other forms of development. In October 2020, the Trump administration permitted such projects, stripping protections that had been in place for nearly two decades.

Foreign policy

In July 2017, Sullivan co-sponsored the

Israel Anti-Boycott Act The Israel Anti-Boycott Act (IABA) (; ) was a proposed anti-BDS law and amendment to the Export Administration Act of 1979 designed to allow U.S. states to enact laws requiring contractors to sign pledges promising not to boycott any goods from I ...

(s. 720), which made it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

s in the occupied territories if protesting actions by the Israeli government. Dan Sullivan with NRA in Alaska - 2019

On June 6, 2021, Sullivan and Senators Tammy Duckworth and Christopher Coons visited Taipei in an U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport to meet President Tsai Ing-wen and

Minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

Joseph Wu during the pandemic outbreak of Taiwan to announce President Joe Biden's donation plan of 750,000

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...

s included in the global COVAX program.

Gun policy

In the 2014 Senate campaign in Alaska, the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...