Sullivan, Gross headline primaries for Alaska Senate seat

JUNEAU, Alaska — Independent Al Gross led the field in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Alaska, while the incumbent, Republican Dan Sullivan, ran unopposed in his primary Tuesday.

Gross, an orthopedic surgeon, was endorsed by the state Democratic party last fall. He is the highest-profile candidate in that primary, which also includes Edgar Blatchford, an associate professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage and a former state commerce commissioner, and Chris Cumings, who, like Gross, is a registered nonpartisan. “Independent” is a term often used to describe those registered as nonpartisan or undeclared in Alaska.

Cumings has been open about his challenges with mental health and substance misuse and on his website says people want someone who is relatable.

Blatchford and Cumings have not reported raising any money. Financial disclosures show Gross had $2.9 million available at the end of July and had put more than $700,000 toward his campaign. Sullivan had about $5.3 million available.

Gross, whose father, the late Avrum Gross, was an attorney general under Gov. Jay Hammond in the 1970s, said he sees Sullivan as a “puppet” for President Donald Trump.

Gross said he will push for changes intended to improve and help bring down the costs of healthcare. He said he supports a public option for individuals and small businesses on the health insurance exchange as a “starting point towards developing a more comprehensive public system.”

Gross has won support from The Lincoln Project, which includes current and former Republicans working to defeat Trump and those in Congress seen as allied with him. The group has taken aim at Sullivan.

Sullivan campaign manager Matt Shuckerow said it would be “disastrous” for Alaska if Democrat Joe Biden is elected president and Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, becomes the Senate majority leader.

Sullivan is a first-term senator who won a contentious — and expensive — race against Democratic incumbent Mark Begich in 2014.

Shuckerow said Sullivan is taking nothing for granted in his re-election bid and is proud of his work for the military, ocean cleanup and domestic violence issues plus his support for opening the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas production.

His position on the refuge prompted a protester to get on stage with Sullivan and his wife at a campaign event and attempt to give him a caribou heart. Shuckerow said that created a dangerous situation because it was not immediately clear what the protester was reaching into a bag to grab.

Becky Bohrer, The Associated Press