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By Steven Frank
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The controversy surrounding two candidates named Dan Sullivan in Alaska's U.S. Senate race has an unexpected historical parallel: John F. Kennedy's first congressional campaign, when two men named Joe Russo ran against him in the 1946 Democratic primary.
The Trump administration has sued to block certification of Alaska's Senate election if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses, arguing that voters could confuse him with another candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.
The lawsuit has drawn a response from Alaskan officials, who are asking a federal judge to dismiss the case. The November 3 contest could help determine control of the Senate.
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Eighty years earlier, Kennedy's campaign faced a similar name problem in Massachusetts. One of his opponents was a well-known Boston city councilor named Joseph Russo. The other was a 27-year-old janitor with the same name who entered the race under circumstances that later prompted allegations of political maneuvering.
The episode offers a glimpse into Kennedy's early political career and a historical parallel to the dispute over the two Sullivans in Alaska.
The Two Joe Russos in JFK's First Campaign
In 1946, Kennedy was seeking the Democratic nomination for Massachusetts' 11th Congressional District, which included Boston's West End, North End and East Boston, as well as Cambridge, Somerville, Brighton and Charlestown.
A Navy veteran from a wealthy political family, Kennedy was running for office for the first time. Among his nine primary opponents was Joseph Russo, an Italian immigrant who had become a prominent figure in Boston politics.
Russo had arrived in Boston from Sicily with his family when he was 8 years old. He later established a funeral home and won election to the Boston City Council in 1938. By the time he entered the congressional race, he had served four terms and had a following among Italian American voters.
Russo questioned Kennedy's qualifications, describing the Harvard-educated political newcomer as a "young squirt" and criticizing the advantages that came with his family's wealth. He also took a swipe at Kennedy's campaign in an advertisement that read: "Congress seat for sale. No experience necessary. Applicant must live in New York or Florida. Only millionaires need apply."
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But Russo faced an unusual complication: another Joe Russo was also on the ballot.
According to the West End Museum, the second Russo was a 27-year-old janitor who was paid by Kennedy campaign manager Joseph Kane to enter the race, potentially confusing voters and splitting support for the more established candidate. The museum's account says Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., JFK's father and a wealthy businessman who later served as U.S. ambassador to Britain, reportedly approved the tactic, although it remains unclear whether JFK himself knew about it.
A PBS American Experience documentary provides another account of the alleged arrangement. Mark Dalton, who worked on Kennedy's campaign, recalled that Joseph Kennedy and people around him had arranged for a second Joseph Russo to enter the race. Dalton said he had no doubt the man was paid to allow his name to appear on the ballot.
"There's no doubt in my mind that Joe Kennedy and the people around him put one of those Joseph Russos in the fight," Dalton said in the documentary transcript.
The allegations were not simply a matter of two candidates sharing a name. In a 1964 oral history interview preserved by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, the elder Russo recalled facing multiple candidates with the same name in political contests. He said he had to advertise himself as the "Middle Russo" when other Joseph Russos appeared alongside him.
What Happened When the Votes Were Counted
The second Russo reportedly acknowledged that people had encouraged him to enter the congressional primary in exchange for favors. According to the West End Museum, he told a reporter that he had been offered assistance with housing and other benefits.
Kennedy won the nomination in a landslide regardless, garnering 22,183 votes, compared with 5,661 for the city councilor and 773 for the janitor, according to the museum's historical account.
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The future Democratic icon went on to win the general election and begin his career in Congress. He would later serve in the Senate before winning the presidency in 1960.
The elder Russo continued in public service after losing to Kennedy. Boston Mayor John Hynes appointed him to the city's Election Commission in 1949, and he later became its chairman.
Russo did not appear to hold a lasting grudge against Kennedy. The museum recounts that the two encountered each other at the 1956 Democratic National Convention. Russo later told his children with pride that the future president had once been a candidate against their father.
Alaska's Two Sullivans Face a Court Fight
The current dispute in Alaska involves Republican Senator Dan Sullivan and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher from Petersburg who says he is running independently. Republicans have accused the challenger of trying to siphon votes from the incumbent, but he has denied being a political plant.
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in June that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. should remain on the ballot. Election officials distinguish the two candidates by identifying the senator as a Republican incumbent and listing the challenger under his full name without a party affiliation. The state's ranked-choice voting system allows voters to rank both candidates.
The Justice Department filed its lawsuit on October 22, seeking to prevent certification if the incumbent loses and votes cast for the other Sullivan could have changed the result. President Donald Trump has said he directed the department to bring the case.
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On Tuesday, Alaskan officials urged a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the federal government lacks a legal basis to intervene in the state's election certification process. They also questioned how officials could determine whether voters intended to select one Sullivan rather than the other without compromising ballot secrecy. A ruling could come before Election Day.
Former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg told Newsweek that even if the Peltola campaign encouraged Daniel J. Sullivan to run, that would not automatically make him ineligible or provide grounds to force Peltola out of the race.
The two U.S. political episodes are separated by nearly eight decades, and the circumstances are not identical. Historical accounts describe an alleged effort to use a second candidate with the same name to divide support for one of Kennedy's opponents. In Alaska, the dispute raises a different question: whether the presence of a similarly named candidate warrants federal intervention in an election's certification.
Both cases illustrate how candidates with similar names can become a source of controversy in American elections, while underscoring the distinction between allegations of political maneuvering and the legal standards governing who can run for office.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jennifer Radcliffe and Edward T. Cummins
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