Alaska Democrats Demand Dismissal of Trump Lawsuit Over Senate Race
Alaska’s Democratic party, along with Senate candidate Mary Peltola, have urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from the Trump administration. The legal action aims to prevent the state from certifying election results if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan narrowly loses.
President Donald Trump recently announced that he had instructed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to initiate legal proceedings against Alaska and its election officials. This move came after discovering two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the U.S. Senate ballot. The administration alleges that Democrats positioned the second Sullivan—a retired teacher named “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.”—to create voter confusion.
The lawsuit hinges on the potential impact of votes for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. on the ranked-choice voting system in Alaska. The Trump-endorsed incumbent is concerned that these votes, if cast for him instead, could have altered the election outcome.
On Sunday, Peltola’s campaign along with the party’s Senate campaign committee expressed their apprehension in a court filing. They feared that Trump and the Attorney General might exploit the lawsuit to cast doubt on the credibility of Alaska’s election results and potentially challenge a Peltola victory.
The filing referred to a post shared by the president on Truth Social, where he labeled the ranked-choice voting ballot in Alaska’s Senate race as “a total Democrat scam.” He claimed it aimed to mislead voters, thereby reducing votes for Senator Dan Sullivan due to the presence of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., whom Trump asserted was a Democratic ploy to steal the election.
President Trump described the DOJ lawsuit as an effort to “stop this impending crime and tragedy.” He further warned that if the Democrats succeeded in taking the Republican seat, all progress made for Alaska could halt immediately.
David R. Fox, representing the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senate campaign committee, branded the DOJ’s lawsuit as “entirely baseless.” He urged for fast-tracking motions to intervene and dismiss before the election day on November 3.
This story is evolving, with further updates expected.