Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan has engaged in stock trading activities amounting to as much as $2 million during his tenure in office, which may shed light on his resistance to a bipartisan initiative aimed at prohibiting stock trading by Congress members.
Sullivan, who is seeking a third term, faces potential competition from Democrat Mary Peltola, a former Representative.
While legislators are permitted to engage in stock trading, the STOCK Act of 2012 mandates public disclosure of these transactions and subjects lawmakers to federal insider-trading regulations.
Between 2015 and 2024, Sullivan disclosed approximately 80 stock trades valued between $550,000 and $2.08 million, making him the sole federal politician from Alaska to report stock trades during this period.
Data from Quiver Quantitative, a platform monitoring congressional stock trading and wealth, indicates that Sullivan’s net worth increased from $3 million in 2015 to $8.29 million, marking a 176% rise.
Sullivan’s investment portfolio has consistently outperformed the stock market. In 2024, it saw a 47.5% increase, nearly doubling the S&P’s average of 24.9%. In 2023, his portfolio surged by 60.5%, compared to the S&P’s 26.29% growth.
Public attention on congressional stock trading has intensified in recent years amid growing concerns over wealth inequality. Multiple Senate resolutions since 2018, most enjoying bipartisan backing, have sought to ban the practice, but none have been enacted into law. Sullivan has not supported these legislative efforts.
Peltola expressed concern over stock trading by lawmakers, describing it as a source of “rampant corruption” in a conversation with Alaska Public Media. She remarked, “I thought that there were protections that prevented self-dealing and self-enriching. I was quite surprised to find out that it was even a discussion whether it should be done, and that there was a move afoot to prohibit that legislation from going forward to ban stock trading.”
Peltola has publicly supported a ban on congressional stock trading.
From 2018 to 2022, Sullivan breached the STOCK Act at least three times by neglecting to report trades within the mandated 45-day timeframe. Two trades involved RPM International, a company led by Sullivan’s brother, Frank Sullivan. Sullivan later amended his disclosures to include these trades without facing legal repercussions.
Alaska has not elected a Democratic senator since 2008. Peltola’s campaign reported a record-breaking fundraising achievement, collecting $8.9 million in the first quarter of 2026, indicating a potentially costly Senate race.
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