Trump administration sues Alaska to prevent certification of key Senate race if Republican incumbent loses

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class="b-headline">Trump orders lawsuit to block U.S. Senate results in Alaska if Republican incumbent loses</h1><h2 class="c-heading b-subheadline">The last-minute legal action would prevent Alaska from certifying the election under certain circumstances if the Democratic candidate wins the key Senate race.</h2><div class="byline"><span class="author">By <div class="Page-byline"><div class="Page-authors"><a href="https://www.votebeat.org/authors/dion-nissenbaum">Dion Nissenbaum</a></div></div></span><span class="separator"> | </span><span class="date">October 23, 2026, 8:00pm UTC</span></div></div><div class="twoColumn"><main class="main"><div class="share-bar"><ul><li><a href="https://bsky.app/intent/compose?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.votebeat.org%2Fnational%2F2026%2F10%2F23%2Falaksa-senate-trump-midterm-lawsuit-justice%2F" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" class="bluesky-share-button"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 600 530" version="1.1"><path d="m135.72 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class="b-lead-art__image-wrapper"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Two white men side by side in a diptych." class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.votebeat.org/resizer/v2/SCJZUVOLRFETPCATZRDRQQOTZI.jpg?focal=1647%2C947&amp;auth=3e987821671ff9ce11aef5a27e007eee388c6d67a618a6aff05d8f6d6cf7c3e7&amp;width=3300&amp;height=2200" srcSet="https://www.votebeat.org/resizer/v2/SCJZUVOLRFETPCATZRDRQQOTZI.jpg?focal=1647%2C947&amp;auth=3e987821671ff9ce11aef5a27e007eee388c6d67a618a6aff05d8f6d6cf7c3e7&amp;width=800&amp;height=533 800w, https://www.votebeat.org/resizer/v2/SCJZUVOLRFETPCATZRDRQQOTZI.jpg?focal=1647%2C947&amp;auth=3e987821671ff9ce11aef5a27e007eee388c6d67a618a6aff05d8f6d6cf7c3e7&amp;width=1600&amp;height=1066 1600w" width="3300" height="2200"/></div><figcaption class="c-media-item__fig-caption"><span class="c-media-item__caption">Dan Sullivan, left, is a former teacher running for U.S. Senate in Alaska against Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, right. President Donald Trump said Friday he directed the Justice Department to file a lawsuit that seeks to block certification of the race if the Republican incumbent loses. </span><span class="c-media-item__credit">(Katie Holmlund / AP, Jacquelyn Martin - Pool via Getty Images) </span></figcaption></figure></div><article class="default__ArticleBodyCivic-sc-1px4eze-2 dBbmFz article-body-wrapper"><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph"><i>Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for </i><a href="https://votebe.at/nationalnewsletter" target="_self" rel="" title="https://votebe.at/nationalnewsletter"><i>our free weekly newsletter</i></a><i> to get the latest.</i></p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">The U.S. Department of Justice late Thursday filed an unusual <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28831194-dojak/" rel="">lawsuit</a> against the state of Alaska seeking to block certification of its U.S. Senate race if the Republican incumbent loses.</p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">With early voting underway in the contest that could determine partisan control of the Senate, and polls showing a tight race between incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic challenger Mary Peltola, the Trump administration is laying the groundwork to challenge the Alaska results in some circumstances. </p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">The lawsuit centers on the participation of a second candidate named Dan Sullivan on the ballot, something that the Justice Department said is likely to confuse Alaska voters. </p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher and former member of the Alaskan Independence Party who switched his registration to Republican shortly before entering the Senate race, is one of four candidates for the seat.</p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">Alaska election officials <a href="https://alaskapublic.org/news/politics/2026-06-15/alaska-elections-division-makes-it-official-says-dan-j-sullivan-cant-run-against-sen-dan-s-sullivan?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="">disqualified Daniel J. Sullivan</a> from the ballot in June, but the former teacher challenged the decision. Sullivan rejected any suggestion he was working with Democrats to dilute the vote for Sen. Sullivan and said he ran because he was dissatisfied with the incumbent’s track record. The Alaska Supreme Court ultimately <a href="https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/06/27/judge-orders-petersburgs-dan-j-sullivan-onto-alaska-us-senate-primary-ballot/" rel="">sided with the former teacher</a> and cleared the way for him to be on the ballot.</p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">Alaska’s ballot <a href="https://www.elections.alaska.gov/election/2026/General/SampleBallots/Federal%20only" rel="">includes the word “incumbent”</a> next to Sen. Sullivan’s name, but the Justice Department filing argues that the other Dan Sullivan’s presence on the ballot “threatens to mislead Alaskan citizens who want to vote for Senator Sullivan.” </p><div class="newsletter-composer"><div class="content"><div class="col-desc"><h3>Elections are under pressure. We help you understand what&#x27;s at stake.</h3><p>Your guide through complex systems and key decisions shaping elections. Delivered weekly.</p></div><div class="col-info"><div><form class="composer-powerup"><label class="emailInput-label"><span>Email<!-- --> <span class="input-required">(required)</span></span></label><input type="email" required="" name="email" value=""/><input type="hidden" name="recaptcha" value=""/><div class="buttonContainer"><button type="submit">Sign Me Up</button></div><input type="hidden" name="recaptcha" value=""/></form></div><p class="small"><i>By signing up, you agree to our</i><a href="/pages/privacy-policy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"><i> Privacy Notice</i></a><i> and European users agree to the data transfer policy. You may also receive</i> <a href="/dedicated-emails/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"><i> occasional messages from sponsors</i></a><i>.</i></p></div></div></div><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">In its lawsuit, the Justice Department said results may be tainted by voter confusion “if: (1) Senator Sullivan does not win the election; and (2) had all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan been cast instead for Senator Sullivan and Alaska’s rank-choice process played out accordingly, Senator Sullivan would have won the election.”</p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">In such a case, the Justice Department wants a federal judge to stop election officials from certifying the election “pending an investigation to determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan.” </p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">Legal scholars said the lawsuit appears to have little chance of succeeding. </p><div id="arcad-feature-f0f5puMrksU11W9-2-2-0-127f7b0488688f" class="c-stack b-ads-block" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><div class="advertisement-link-wrapper"><a href="/pages/votebeat-media-kit/" target="_blank" class="advertisement-link" rel="noopener noreferrer">Become a Votebeat sponsor</a></div><div style="text-align:center;min-height:90px"><div id="arcad_f0f5puMrksU11W9-2-2-0-127f7b0488688f"></div></div></div><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">“It arises from real, valid, recognized concerns about a bad-faith sham candidate, potential confusion, and effective disenfranchisement,” Michael Morley, an election law expert at Florida State University said in an email. “But this particular lawsuit is frivolous and will be quickly dismissed.” </p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">Morley said “any concerns about the sham candidacy could have been raised before the election, before votes were cast,” and that the Senate itself could challenge the results and refuse to seat Peltola if she wins.</p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">Ilya Somin, a constitutional law professor at George Mason University and scholar at the libertarian Cato Institute, also said the lawsuit appeared to be baseless. </p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">“Any law suppressing candidates based on potential voter confusion <a href="https://reason.com/volokh/2026/08/18/voter-ignorance-and-confusion-caused-by-candidates-with-similar-names/" rel="">would violate the First Amendment</a>,” he said in an email. </p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">“As to why DOJ waited so long, I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe this is one of those politically motivated cases they brought only after pressure from on high overruled line attorneys.”</p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">President Donald Trump took credit for the lawsuit on Friday.</p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">“I’m the one that said do it,” <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-administration-files-lawsuit-to-block-possible-democratic-win-in-alaska-senate-race" rel="">Trump told reporters</a>. </p><h2 class="heading__StyledHeading-sc-1j4fz6r-0 fcsTcd">Alaska uses ranked choice voting, which means results could take time</h2><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">The lawsuit is part of a concerted Justice Department effort to inject more federal control over elections, which are the responsibility of state and local officials. Last week, the Trump administration filed a <a href="https://www.votebeat.org/national/2026/10/20/trump-california-noncitizen-voters-2026-election-lawsuit/" rel="">lawsuit in California</a> that seeks to compel the state to segregate as many as 20,000 ballots it says could be cast by noncitizens. California officials say that lawsuit is based on flawed assertions that some registered voters are noncitizens, and legal scholars have said that the Trump administration is unlikely to succeed. </p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">If Peltola wins in Alaska, she would be the first Democrat in 18 years to represent the state in the Senate. The race is expected to be close. </p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">In addition, Alaska is one of two states — the other is Maine — using ranked choice voting to select a winner in a Senate race this year. In Alaska, voters will rank the four U.S. Senate candidates by preference. If none of them win more than 50% of first-choice votes at the outset, Alaska will then shift on Nov. 18th to the ranked choice voting process.</p><div id="arcad-feature-f0fhBqFyksU11QR-2-2-1-1ad17d575bee09" class="c-stack b-ads-block" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><div class="advertisement-link-wrapper"><a href="/pages/votebeat-media-kit/" target="_blank" class="advertisement-link" rel="noopener noreferrer">Become a Votebeat sponsor</a></div><div style="text-align:center;min-height:90px"><div id="arcad_f0fhBqFyksU11QR-2-2-1-1ad17d575bee09"></div></div></div><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">At that point, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their supporters’ votes will be redistributed to those voters’ second choices. That means that if Daniel J. Sullivan is eliminated, his votes could then go to Sen. Sullivan, depending on how the voter ranked the candidates. </p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">The process continues until one candidate secures a majority. </p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">Even if the Justice Department lawsuit fails, members of the U.S. Senate could try to prevent Peltola from taking the seat. There are some precedents for that. </p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">In 1975, the Senate declined to seat either candidate in a <a href="https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/electing-appointing-senators/durkin-wyman-election.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="">disputed New Hampshire election</a>, eventually declaring the seat vacant and paving the way for a new election. In another case, the Senate <a href="https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/electing-appointing-senators/contested-senate-elections/105Steck_Brookhart.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="">overturned the results of a 1924 Iowa election</a> and seated the losing candidate nearly two years later.</p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph">“If Senator Dan S. Sullivan loses, and Daniel J. Sullivan’s vote tally exceeds the margin of victory, then the senator’s best bet would be to file an election contest with the U.S. Senate, which is the sole judge of its members’ elections and returns,” Morley said.</p><p class="default__StyledText-sc-1px4eze-0 egVxCn body-paragraph"><i>Dion Nissenbaum is Votebeat’s senior national reporter and is based in Houston. Contact Dion at </i><a href="mailto:dnissenbaum@votebeat.org" rel=""><i>dnissenbaum@votebeat.org</i></a><i>.</i></p></article><div id="fusion-static-enter:html-block-f0fycI0MY8GK2hO" style="display:none" data-fusion-component="html-block-f0fycI0MY8GK2hO"></div><div><div class="PageList-header"> …