Trump DOJ Sues to Block Alaska Senate Election Certification if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan Loses

The Trump administration has sued to block certification of Alaska's November 3 Senate election if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan narrowly loses to Democrat Mary Peltola, arguing that another candidate with a nearly identical name could cost the incumbent enough votes to change the outcome.

The Justice Department filed the lawsuit October 22, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, seeking to delay certification if votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher whose candidacy has already survived a state court challenge, could have changed the winner. Federal officials want an investigation into whether voters mistakenly selected the second Sullivan while intending to support the senator.

President Donald Trump said Friday that he directed the Justice Department to bring the case, placing his administration in a legal dispute over a Senate election less than two weeks before Election Day.

The challenge follows months of litigation over Sullivan Jr.'s eligibility. Alaska election officials initially disqualified him after concluding that his candidacy was intended to confuse voters, but state courts reversed that decision. In June, the Alaska Supreme Court upheld his reinstatement, allowing him to compete against the incumbent and two other candidates.

Federal attorneys now allege that Sullivan Jr. deliberately tried to capitalize on his similar name. According to the complaint, he sought to appear on the ballot as "Dan Sullivan," the name commonly used by the incumbent, and pursued a candidacy that could divert Republican votes to benefit Peltola.

The Justice Department also questions his political affiliations and campaign activity, arguing that his participation could disrupt how voters rank their preferred candidates.

Alaska's official sample ballot distinguishes the two men. Sullivan Jr. appears as "Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr." without a party designation, while the incumbent is listed as "Sullivan, Dan S." and identified as a registered Republican and incumbent senator.

That distinction was part of the earlier ballot-access dispute. Sullivan Jr.'s attorneys argued that state election officials lacked authority to exclude a legally qualified candidate based on speculation about his motives or the possibility of voter confusion. Alaska's courts ultimately permitted him to remain in the race.

The federal lawsuit targets a different stage of the election. Rather than removing Sullivan Jr. from the ballot, DOJ wants certification suspended if the incumbent loses by a margin that could be reversed by counting the other Sullivan's votes in his favor.

That proposed remedy would affect Alaska's ranked-choice election, in which voters may list candidates in order of preference. When a candidate fails to secure a majority of active votes, the lowest-ranking contender is eliminated and ballots transfer to the next eligible choice until someone wins a majority.

Federal attorneys argue that confusion between the two Sullivans could cause voters to select the wrong candidate or omit the incumbent from their rankings, potentially changing the final count.

The government bases its case on the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which primarily governs voter registration procedures. DOJ contends that the statute's stated purpose of protecting election integrity authorizes federal intervention when allegedly deceptive conduct threatens the accuracy of election results.

Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, challenged that interpretation in an October 23 analysis, arguing that the Justice Department is relying on language from the law's preamble rather than a provision granting federal officials authority over state election certification. He also pointed to Alaska's decision to identify the incumbent senator on the ballot, a distinction intended to reduce confusion between the candidates.

The requested investigation raises further questions about how officials could establish voter intent while preserving ballot secrecy, particularly after Alaska's courts ruled that Sullivan Jr. was legally entitled to appear on the ballot.

Peltola's campaign has criticized the federal action as an effort to interfere with the election. Justice Department officials maintain that their intervention would protect voters from misleading ballot choices and preserve the integrity of the result.

The case remains before a federal judge as Alaska approaches its November 3 election. The Justice Department's requested certification delay would depend on the incumbent's defeat and whether votes cast for the other Sullivan could have changed the result.