Trump's Justice Department sues to block Alaska Senate result if Sullivan loses
The US Justice Department has asked a federal court to stop Alaska certifying its Senate race if Republican Dan Sullivan narrowly loses to Democrat Mary Peltola, blaming a second candidate with the same name; President Trump says he ordered the suit.
At a glance
- The US Justice Department sued the State of Alaska in federal court this week, asking that the November 3 Senate result not be certified if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan loses narrowly.
- The case centres on a second candidate, retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan, whose name the department says could confuse voters; Alaska's Supreme Court ruled in June that he can stay on the ballot.
- President Donald Trump said on Friday, October 23, 2026, that he ordered the lawsuit: 'I'm the one that said, do it.'
- Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign called the suit 'a despicable political threat to overturn an election', and Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said it should never have been filed.
- Alaska uses ranked-choice voting; if no candidate wins a majority of first choices, the count continues on November 18.
The US Justice Department has sued the State of Alaska to stop it certifying next month's Senate election if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan narrowly loses to Democrat Mary Peltola. The case, filed in federal court this week, blames a second candidate on the ballot who shares the senator's name. President Donald Trump said on Friday, October 23, 2026, that he personally ordered the lawsuit, an unusual step taken before a single vote has been counted in the November 3 midterm elections.
What the lawsuit asks for
The case, titled United States v. State of Alaska, targets the state and its election officials. The department argues that the candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher, breaks the National Voter Registration Act because it "threatens to mislead" voters who mean to back the senator.
The request is conditional. The department wants the court to block certification only if two things happen together:
| Condition in the lawsuit | What it means |
|---|---|
| Senator Dan Sullivan loses the race | Peltola or another candidate finishes ahead after the count |
| The other Sullivan's votes would have changed the result | Under ranked-choice counting, the senator would have won if Daniel J. Sullivan's ballots had gone to him |
| Then: no certification | The department wants the result held while it investigates |
The filing says it is "vital" that officials do not certify "any election result that may be impacted by voter confusion".
Who is on the ballot
Alaska's Senate race has four candidates: Senator Dan Sullivan, the Republican incumbent; Mary Peltola, a Democrat and former congresswoman; Gerald Heikes; and Daniel J. Sullivan, listed on the sample ballot as "Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr." The senator's own line includes the word "incumbent".
Daniel J. Sullivan is a former member of the Alaska Independence Party who later registered as a Republican. In June, the state Division of Elections ruled him ineligible, saying he was trying to confuse voters. State courts reversed that decision, and the Alaska Supreme Court upheld the ruling that he could stay on the ballot. His lawyers argued that Alaska law gives officials no power to remove a qualified candidate or to judge his private motives.
Background: a close race with national stakes
The contest between Sullivan and Peltola is expected to be tight, and it could help decide control of the US Senate. A Peltola victory would make her the first Democrat to represent Alaska in the Senate since 2015.
Alaska uses an open primary and ranked-choice general election. Voters rank the candidates in order of preference. If nobody wins more than half of the first-choice votes, the last-placed candidate is eliminated and those ballots move to the voters' next choice. In this race, that count would continue on November 18, more than two weeks after polling day.
Trump has attacked the ballot set-up for weeks, calling it "totally confusing" and "cheating" on social media and saying his administration was looking for ways to remove the other Sullivan. Asked about the lawsuit on Friday, he said: "I'm the one that said, 'do it.'"
The case is part of a wider push by the Justice Department on election matters ahead of the midterms, including a separate lawsuit in California over alleged noncitizen ballots.
Reactions
Peltola's campaign called the lawsuit "a despicable political threat to overturn an election" and promised to fight it in court. Alaska's other senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, said the department "should never have filed this lawsuit", noting that the state had already made the two Sullivans easy to tell apart on the ballot.
A Justice Department spokesperson said the aim was to make sure a "frivolous" candidacy did not undermine the integrity of Alaska's election.
Legal scholars were sharply critical. Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University, said removing candidates over possible voter confusion would likely violate the First Amendment. Michael Morley, an election law expert at Florida State University, called the claim weak and said concerns about the ballot should have been raised before voting began. The US Constitution gives states the main power to run their own elections, which critics say makes a federal attempt to stop certification highly unusual.
Why it matters
The case is one of the clearest signs yet that the results of some midterm races could end up in court. If a federal judge accepted the department's theory, it would let Washington hold up a state's official result on the grounds that voters may have been confused — a precedent that worries election officials in both parties.
Even if the lawsuit fails, Morley pointed out that the Senate itself can refuse to seat a winner whose election is disputed, as happened in New Hampshire in 1975 and Iowa in 1924. That makes a close Alaska result a potential flashpoint in Washington well into the new year.
For viewers around the world, including in Pakistan and South Asia, the fight over who controls the US Senate matters because the chamber approves treaties, trade deals, arms sales and senior appointments that shape US foreign policy.
What happens next
The federal court in Alaska has not yet set a hearing date. Voting in the midterm elections ends on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. If no Senate candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, the ranked-choice count takes place on November 18. Only after that would the question of certification — and the lawsuit's conditions — come into play.
Questions people are asking
Why is the Justice Department suing Alaska over the Senate race?
The department argues that a second candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot could mislead voters who want Senator Dan Sullivan, breaking federal voter-registration law. It wants certification paused for an investigation if the senator loses and would have won with the other Sullivan's votes.
Who is running for the Senate in Alaska in 2026?
The ranked-choice race has four candidates: Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, Democrat Mary Peltola, Gerald Heikes and Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher. The contest between Sullivan and Peltola is expected to be close.
When will Alaska's Senate result be known?
Voting ends on November 3, 2026. If no candidate gets more than half of first-choice votes, Alaska runs its ranked-choice count on November 18, so the final result could take more than two weeks.
