The Trump administration has preemptively filed a lawsuit to dam the certification of the Alaska Senate race if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses the race, citing title confusion among the many candidates.
Republicans have alleged that Alaska Senate candidate Dan J. Sullivan is operating a sham marketing campaign to purposefully confuse voters and draw votes away from incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan based mostly on their names being similar.
An earlier authorized problem to the candidacy was rejected by Alaska’s supreme courtroom, which ordered that Dan J. Sullivan be included on the poll.
“Ought to Alaska certify any electoral outcomes tainted by the inclusion on the poll of Daniel J. Sullivan … the State and its officers will fail in its obligation to guard the integrity of its election,” the number-three rating official on the Division of Justice, Stanley Woodward, wrote within the Thursday submitting.
In bringing the case, the Justice Division says it is guarding in opposition to the likelihood that Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses in a fashion that implies he would have gained had been it not for votes forged for Dan J. Sullivan. The incumbent senator is dealing with Democratic challenger Mary Peltola, in addition to Dan J. Sullivan, who’s showing on the poll with out a get together affiliation.
“To protect in opposition to this hazard, it is important that Defendants not certify any election outcome that could be impacted by voter confusion. An election outcome could also be impacted by voter confusion if: (1) Senator Sullivan doesn’t win the election; and (2) had all votes forged for Daniel J. Sullivan been forged as an alternative for Senator Sullivan and Alaska’s rank-choice course of performed out accordingly, Senator Sullivan would have gained the election,” Woodward wrote.
A Justice Division spokesperson stated in a press release, “Alaska’s Division of Elections decided that Mr. Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy was meant to mislead voters and compromise the equity of the poll. Due to this fact, the Justice Division, per the Nationwide Voter Registration Act enacted by Congress, is taking the required steps to make sure that this frivolous candidacy doesn’t undermine the integrity of Alaska’s election or the desire of its voters.”
President Donald Trump shakes arms with Senator Dan Sullivan as he invited him to talk throughout a marketing campaign rally in Wasilla, Alaska, October 13, 2026.
Kent Nishimura/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
The Alaska Secretary of State’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from ABC Information. Marketing campaign spokespeople for Peltola, Sen. Sullivan and Dan J. Sullivan didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump posted on social media that he was taking a look at “highly effective authorized choices” to take away Dan. J Sullivan from the poll.
Over the summer time, Alaska’s election workplace stated that Dan J. Sullivan can be faraway from the poll as a result of the workplace decided his candidacy was not in good religion, however was meant, per an official, “to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the poll’s equity or neutrality.”
Dan. J Sullivan then sued the state over the choice, and a state decide dominated that he was eligible to be on Alaska’s Senate main poll. The Alaska Supreme Court docket upheld the ruling, after which the DOJ started investigating.
Fielding questions from reporters simply hours earlier than the lawsuit was filed, Legal professional Basic Todd Blanche would not rule out the DOJ intervening in a state’s election course of, however instructed solely a “doomsday state of affairs” would warrant such motion.
Dan Sullivan, who has filed to run for U.S. Senate in Alaska, poses for a photograph June 26, 2026, in Petersburg, Alaska.
Katie Holmlund/AP Picture
“I imply, is there any state of affairs? Sure, after all. There’s eventualities that we may all give you hypothetically, , some doomsday state of affairs, for instance, proper?” Blanche stated. “It’s not DOJ’s intention to, and it is by no means our intention to improperly intrude with elections or the state affirmation course of or certification course of.”
ABC Information’ Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.
