US President Donald Trump has acknowledged ordering a Justice Department lawsuit aimed at delaying certification of Alaska’s Senate election result under certain circumstances if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses the November 3 midterm election.
Trump confirmed his involvement on Friday during a visit to Florida, where he was preparing to cast an early ballot, intensifying concerns over whether his administration would accept an electoral defeat.
“I’m the one that said, ‘Do it,’” Trump said.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, alleges that the candidacy of another man named Dan J. Sullivan Jr. on Alaska’s ballot could confuse voters and reduce support for the sitting Republican senator, benefiting his Democratic challenger, Mary Peltola.
The Justice Department is asking that certification of a Democratic victory be delayed while the matter is investigated if Sullivan’s margin of defeat is smaller than the number of votes received by his namesake.
Sullivan Jr., a registered Republican, and Democrats have rejected the allegation that his candidacy was designed to undermine the incumbent.
Peltola described the lawsuit as “corruption” in a post on X. Legal analyst Derek Muller also questioned the strength of the government’s case, describing it as “absurdly thin” and arguing that it was unlikely to succeed.
Sullivan Jr. was removed from the ballot earlier this year but was later reinstated by an Alaska lower court, a decision upheld by the state Supreme Court.
The dispute comes as Republicans defend their congressional majorities ahead of the midterms. Democrats are seeking to win control of the House of Representatives and have a narrower path to taking the Senate, where Alaska is among the seats they hope to capture.
Trump won Alaska by 13 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, but Peltola, a former tribal judge and Alaska Native, is mounting a competitive challenge, according to the report.
The lawsuit has added to broader political tensions over election administration and the federal government’s role in contests that are primarily managed by state authorities. Trump previously challenged his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Thursday that the Justice Department was not preparing to interfere in the midterms, although he declined to rule out federal action in what he called a “doomsday scenario.”
The outcome of the Alaska case could determine whether a potential Democratic victory is certified promptly or held up while the courts consider the allegations.
You Might Also Like
