Justice Department sues to block Alaska Senate certification if Republican Dan Sullivan loses
Editorial illustration — Press Pass USAThe Trump administration has preemptively sued to block certification of Alaska's U.S. Senate election if Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses — arguing that a second candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot could confuse voters.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 22 in federal court in Anchorage, claims Alaska would fail in its duty to protect election integrity if it certifies results "tainted by the inclusion on the ballot of Daniel J. Sullivan." It asks the court to delay certification "pending an investigation" into voter intent — but only if Sullivan loses and would have won had the other candidate's votes gone to him instead.
The race is one of the contests that could decide control of the Senate. Sullivan faces Democrat Mary Peltola, and polling has been close: one recent average showed Peltola ahead by two points, with the second Sullivan drawing two to five percent. Alaska uses ranked-choice voting. In August's primary, Peltola took 49.5%, Sullivan 41.4% and Daniel J. Sullivan 2.5%.
The other Sullivan — a registered Republican listed on the ballot without a party affiliation — has already been the subject of litigation. Alaska election officials disqualified him after concluding his candidacy was meant to mislead voters, pointing to his request to appear as "Dan Sullivan" and, initially, with the incumbent's middle initial. The Alaska Supreme Court let him stay on the ballot. President Trump called the candidacy a "SCAM" on Truth Social before the suit was filed.
Election law professor Derek Muller of Notre Dame called the Justice Department's theory "strange and unusual," and it is unclear, he said, how a court could intervene in the way the department proposes. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason.
Sources: CNN (Oct 23, 2026); Reuters (Oct 23, 2026).
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