Five days to go, and the tempest in the Alaskan teacup has acquired enough color to take over the Flatscreen.

The Conference Table had been trying to organize an afternoon entrée. Alaska interrupted with a Senate race featuring two men named Sullivan, a reported search for spoiler candidates, campaign denials and an investigation. Apparently one Dan Sullivan was insufficient for the needs of representative government.
The incumbent is Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan.

The other is Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher whose presence on the ballot has produced a prolonged argument about whether voters might mistake one for the other.

Now a New York Times investigation reports that people connected with Mary Peltola’s campaign and national Democratic operatives worked to recruit additional candidates who could dilute the incumbent’s support. The reporting describes a search through voter records for people named Dan Sullivan and an undertaking known internally as the “ballot composition project.”

Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee deny participating in the recruitment.

“Ballot composition” is a splendid expression. It sounds like something taught in a communications seminar, perhaps between typography and public relations.

Around our table, the question was more direct: if the reporting holds up, why spend time finding somebody with your opponent’s name unless confusion is part of the product?

Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into whether the reported effort violated Alaska law. That distinction matters. An investigation has been ordered; a finding of criminal election fraud has not been established. Alaska’s courts had previously allowed the second Sullivan’s candidacy to proceed.

Then there is ranked-choice voting, which supplies the machinery beneath the argument.

The basic rule is understandable. Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If nobody wins a majority initially, the last-place candidate is eliminated and those ballots move to their next available choices. The process continues until a winner emerges. Each ballot counts for one candidate at a time.

Explaining the arithmetic does not settle the argument about the names printed on the ballot. A voter who mistakes one Sullivan for another may faithfully follow the instructions and still fail to express the preference intended.

That deserves scrutiny. So does any organized effort to manufacture that confusion.

By then, the Conference Table had generated several opinions, no consensus and a growing appetite. Rocket brought the discussion back to his department.

Beef.

His proposed afternoon entrée was Cheeseburger Casserole. Ground beef, crisp bacon, familiar burger condiments and sharp cheddar, assembled in a skillet without requiring someone to stand over a grill taking individual orders.

The cream cheese supplies richness. Eggs hold the operation together. The cheddar goes on top, where everybody can see what it is doing.

There was something reassuring about an ingredient list:

ROCKET’S CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE

Allow about an hour. Makes approximately six servings, so triple for a Shift Change menu.

Ingredients

½ pound bacon, diced
1 pound ground beef
½ onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
4 tablespoons cream cheese
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon seasoned salt, or less to taste
4 large eggs
¼ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded and divided
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
Suggested Galley Method
Heat the oven to 350°F. In an oven-safe skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove it and drain off all but about a tablespoon of the drippings.

Cook the beef and onion in the skillet, breaking up the meat, until the beef is cooked through and the onion is tender. Add the garlic for the final minute, then drain excess fat.

Over low heat, stir in the cream cheese, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire and seasoned salt. Once combined, remove from the heat and fold in half the bacon.

Whisk the eggs with the cream, hot sauce and pepper. Stir in half the cheddar. Spread the beef evenly in the skillet, pour the egg mixture over it and gently work it through. Top with the remaining cheddar and bacon.
Bake approximately 25–35 minutes, until the center is set and reaches 160°F.

Rest for 5–10 minutes and finish with dill. Baking time is an estimate; check the center.

Put pickles, crispy onions and burger sauce on the table for anyone wishing to amend the platform.
Leftovers can go into toasted buns, quesadillas or baked potatoes. Rocket considers that sound planning for the next watch section.

Five days remain until the election. There will be plenty more to discuss.

This afternoon, we can at least agree on where the cheese belongs.

Copyright 2026 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com