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There are two Dan Sullivans in Alaska running for office at the same time. They're both called Daniel Sullivan, but both go by Dan Sullivan - see here, where it also states that "Middle initials would allow for some clarity (the mayor’s is A, and the former attorney general’s is S), but both candidates declined that option", so calling the articles "Daniel S. Sullivan" and "Daniel A. Sullivan" won't work (nevermind WP:COMMONNAME). We can't even keep "Dan Sullivan (mayor)" at that disambig because he's running for (and likely to be elected) Lieutenant Governor and we can't keep changing article names based on what office the subject is elected to. Thus, I'm going to move this article to "Dan Sullivan (politician, born 1964)" and Dan Sullivan (mayor) to "Dan Sullivan (politician, born 1951)". When talking about them on the same page (for example, here), middle initials should be used to easily distinguish in polling tables etc. Tiller54 (talk) 20:24, 22 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

This sentence has been inserted: "Sullivan befriended libertarian bioethicist Jacob Appel during a 1998 visit to Nome and later served as a model for the character Peter Smythe in Appel's novel, The Biology of Luck". The citation is to <ref> "Friendship Forged on Uncommon Beliefs," Nome Nugget, September 25, 2014</ref> No hotlink is included in the reference. I looked up the Nome Nugget and this is what I found for their September 25, 2014 edition. Maybe I'm blind, but I don't see any article in it called "Friendship Forged on Uncommon Beliefs". I also looked in the September 18 edition of the Nome Nugget and did not find such an article. I googled Jacob Appel and Dan Sullivan and the first reference (of six) that came back was this Wikipedia article; the others are irrelevant. So for now I am taking out this sentence from the article, and putting a note on the talk page of the user who inserted it. Champaign Supernova (talk) 08:49, 2 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You know, I am not usually that much into editing US politics articles. However, this one has been getting into my eye since I first saw it. And do you know why? Because the title is too damn long. Seriously, now, from the results of the meagre research I just conducted, it has been a constant practice to name US senators who need disambiguation like this: John Smith (senator). See Nathan Smith (senator), James Harlan (senator), George Gray (senator) and Henry Latimer (senator).

The current one may had been the ideal title for this article before the subject was elected a US senator. And still, it was, admittedly, not the best, but any other alternative would not work, as there are two Dan Sullivans in Alaska and both held quite high offices. Now that he is a US senator, it is the ideal opportunity to shorten the title a bit. So, in a nutshell, I propose Dan Sullivan (senator) or Dan Sullivan (U.S. senator).

Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you.--The Theosophist (talk) 10:01, 17 November 2014 (UTC)[reply]

P.S.

Richard Stockton (U.S. Senator), Henry Cooper (U.S. Senator), James Allen (U.S. Senator), John Black (U.S. Senator) and George Jones (U.S. Senator).--The Theosophist (talk) 10:04, 17 November 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The common theme that unites all those men? They're long dead. Once upon a time, the practice was that Senators or Congressmen needing a qualifier in their article name had (senator) added or, if there were more than one from different states just (Georgia) or (New York), for example. We don't do that any more. Look at current Senators who need disambiguating: there's Chris Murphy (politician), John Walsh (U.S. politician), Jack Reed (politician), Tim Johnson (South Dakota politician), Mike Lee (U.S. politician) and Ron Johnson (U.S. politician). Yes, Sullivan's about to be a U.S. Senator. But he a) he's not yet, b) he's held other office and c) we don't know how long he'll be in office for or what he'll do next. As I said above, we can't go changing an article's name every time someone runs for office. If he's elected Governor or appointed to the Cabinet, we couldn't keep it at (U.S. Senator). With someone like Nathan Smith (senator), Richard Stockton (U.S. Senator), Henry Cooper (U.S. Senator), John Black (U.S. Senator) or George Jones (U.S. Senator), they all served a couple of years in the Senate and that's it. Their articles have basically nothing else to say about them. Some of them really shouldn't just be at "senator" though. George Gray (senator), for example. He also served as a federal judge for 14 years so the article should probably be at something else. Other George Grays are at, for example, George Gray (Australian politician) and George Gray (Tasmanian politician). Tiller54 (talk) 12:50, 17 November 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Very well said, my dear. I understand everything. Still, is not the current qualifier rather long?--The Theosophist (talk) 20:04, 18 November 2014 (UTC)[reply]

• I disagree, given the circumstances here. The six-year Senate term for Sullivan is an eternity in wiki-time, and it's extremely unlikely he would leave in that time for another office. While you make good points, I think the benefits of an easier, shorter title outweigh them in this case. -LtNOWIS (talk) 22:01, 18 November 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You are right.--The Theosophist (talk) 13:15, 20 November 2014 (UTC)[reply]