2 candidates, 1 logo: This Alaska Senate race just made design theft its No. 1 issue

Two Dan Sullivans are running for Senate in Alaska, and if their names aren’t confusing enough, you might want to take a look at their logos. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is an incumbent Republican who’s served in the U.S. Senate since 2015, while Dan J. Sullivan is a last-minute candidate who’s also running as a Republican. He entered the race just days before Alaska’s filing deadline. Sen. Sullivan’s logo, which he’s used for 11 years, features his last name in a white serif font above a right-justified, all-caps sans-serif subhead reading “U.S. Senate” in gold. As in the Alaska flag, a series of gold stars is arranged in the formation of the Big Dipper constellation. Polaris, the North Star, cleverly replaces the tittle in the “i.” Meanwhile, Dan J. Sullivan’s logo and color palette are nearly identical, but they invert the white and gold lettering and feature just one star instead of several. Dan J. Sullivan (top), Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (bottom) There are nine Dan Sullivans registered to vote in Alaska, per the Anchorage Daily News. If you’re not befuddled already, there was also a Dan A. Sullivan who ran for and held office before in the state. (His campaign logo for lieutenant governor was blue and green.) But the sitting Sullivan senator doesn’t think the new candidate’s entry to the race is simply serendipitous, and he considers the logo a rip-off. “He stole it,” Sen. Sullivan told CNN about the logo similarities, calling it “about 98% similar.” He suspects political chicanery, accusing Democrats of entering a candidate with his name to draw away votes and help Democrat and former Rep. Mary Peltola, who’s also running for the seat in Alaska’s top-four open primary in August. “Mary Peltola and D.C. Democrats know they can’t win this race on the issues, so they’ve resorted to dirty, dishonest tactics—recruiting a sham candidate with the sole purpose of dece