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.[2]
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. Sullivan spent several years with a reconnaissance battalion based in Anchorage. 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.[4] Sullivan is a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. He received the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.[5]
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.[7][8]
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.[9] 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.[10]
Sullivan was retained by Governor Sean Parnell. He stepped down as attorney general on December 5, 2010, to be replaced by John J. Burns.[11][12]
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.[13]
On October 15, 2013, Sullivan announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democratic incumbent Mark Begich in the 2014 election.[14] He was endorsed by the Club for Growth.[15] Begich had defeated longtime incumbent Ted Stevens in the previous election. Stevens had filed for the election in 2009[16] following his exoneration,[17] and was widely expected to win, but died in a plane crash on August 9, 2010.[18] This left the race for the Republican nomination wide open.
On June 10, 2014, Sullivan offered Begich the Alaska Agreement.[19] 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.[19] Begich rejected the agreement.[19] According to Ballotpedia, outside spending in the race hit nearly $40 million.[20]
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 and Miller's 32% and Treadwell's 25%.[21][22]
On November 12, 2014, the Associated Press[23] and CNN[24] 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.[25] Begich eventually conceded on November 17.[26] Final results showed that Sullivan won by 6,014 votes out of 282,400 cast, 47.96% to 45.83%.[27][28]
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.[29] Gross touted his "deep roots" in the state and published several campaign videos that received national attention.[30] 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.[31]
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.[32] Ultimately, Sullivan defeated Gross 54% to 41%, with Alaskan Independence Party nominee John Howe receiving nearly 5% of the vote.[33]
According to FiveThirtyEight, Sullivan voted in line with President Donald Trump's position 91.5% of the time.[35] According to the American Conservative Union's Center for Legislative Accountability, Sullivan had a lifetime conservative rating of 79.5.[36] Americans for Democratic Action gave Sullivan a zero on their liberalism score in 2019.[37]
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.[38]
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."[39]
Sullivan voted to acquit Trump at the conclusion of his first impeachment trial.[40][41] During Sullivan's reelection bid, Trump endorsed him, saying Sullivan supported Trump's agenda.[42]
By October 6, 2020, Sullivan announced that he would be voting for Trump, saying the choice was "very clear."[43] Sullivan also voted to acquit Trump during his second impeachment trial.[44]
Environment
Sullivan rejects that there is a scientific consensus on climate change.[45][46] 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.[46]
In October 2020, the Environmental Investigation Agency recorded and published conversations between undercover actors, who pretended to be potential investors in Pebble 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.[47][48] An investigation by Popular 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.[47] Sullivan said he planned to donate campaign contributions from Pebble Mine executives to charity.[49] In January 2023, the EPA essentially blocked the project, using its power to restrict development to protect watersheds.[50] In May 2023, President Biden celebrated the EPA's veto in a Rose Garden meeting with 200 opponents of the project, including many Bristol Bay tribes and nationwide environmental organizations.[51]
Sullivan lobbied the Trump administration to open up the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to logging and other forms of development.[52][53] In October 2020, the Trump administration permitted such projects, stripping protections that had been in place for nearly two decades.[53]
Foreign policy
In July 2017, Sullivan co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which made it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the occupied territories if protesting actions by the Israeli government.[54][55]
Dan Sullivan receiving a commemorative gun during a Friends of the NRA event in Alaska.
In the 2014 Senate campaign in Alaska, the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) declined to make an endorsement. The NRA gave Begich an "A−" rating and Sullivan an "AQ" rating, the "Q" indicating the rating was qualified because Sullivan had no voting record at the time.[59][60]
On November 17, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sullivan did not wear a mask while presiding over the Senate. Senator Sherrod Brown asked him to "please wear a mask as he speaks." Sullivan told Brown he was not taking instructions from Brown and later called Brown a "far-left senator." Senator Ted Cruz called Brown an "ass" for making the request and suggested it was virtue signaling.[64][65]CDC guidelines at the time stated that people should wear face masks while indoors.[65][66]
Judiciary
In 2016, Sullivan defended the Republican refusal to hold a hearing for President Barack 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."[67][68] In October 2020, in the last few weeks before the 2020 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.[67][68][69]
Sullivan has not made social issues a major part of his platform.[71] He opposes abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or threat to the life of the mother.[72] In 2022 he voted for the Respect for Marriage Act.[72]
Sullivan introduced the bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation, the FIRST 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.[73] Trump signed the bill into law 3 days later.
In December 2020, during his lame-duck period, Trump vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.[75] The veto left new Coast Guardcutters that were scheduled to be homeported in Alaska without port facilities to maintain them.[75] Sullivan questioned the veto, because it put in question whether the cutters could be placed in Alaska.
^McBride, Rhonda (October 12, 2020). "Senate Fisheries Debate". Kodiak Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
^ abRobert Woolsey (December 27, 2020). "Trump's Defense veto could sink Sitka's Coast Guard dock". KCAW. Archived from the original on December 28, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020. 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.