The Justice Department is asking a federal court to block Alaska from certifying its Senate election results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses — and Democrats are rushing to shut the challenge down before a hearing can even be scheduled.
The lawsuit, which President Trump confirmed he personally ordered, argues that another candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. appearing on the ballot could mislead voters who intend to vote for the incumbent. The legal fight tests whether the federal government can override state election administration — and raises the question of whether only one party is ever allowed to question how votes are counted.
The DOJ filed suit on Oct. 22, less than two weeks before Election Day and after early voting had already begun. The complaint asks the court to prevent Alaska from certifying the Senate results if Sen. Dan Sullivan does not win, and if votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. would have changed the outcome under Alaska's ranked-choice system.
Trump has repeatedly complained about the same-name candidacy. "I am very concerned about the Dan S. Sullivan Race for the U.S. Senate in Alaska in that it is totally confusing," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "It's ridiculous that the Court didn't stop this SCAM." He told reporters Friday: "I'm the one that said 'do it.'"
On Friday, attorneys for Democratic candidate Mary Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed a motion to dismiss, calling the DOJ lawsuit "an unprecedented pre-emptive strike on democratic elections." The filing argues that DOJ's assumption that every voter who chose Dan J. Sullivan Jr. meant to vote for the incumbent "is insulting to voters and irreconcilable with Alaska's ranked choice voting procedures and the ballot's clear differentiation between the two candidates."
The League of Women Voters of Alaska and Common Cause filed separately to intervene as well.
NBC News framed the lawsuit as part of a "nationwide attack on free elections," adopting the Democratic filing's language. CNBC noted the bipartisan backlash, including from Alaska's own Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who posted on social media: "The Department of Justice should never have filed this lawsuit."
The legal basis is thin. The DOJ cites the National Voter Registration Act, but that statute contains no provision authorizing the federal government to dictate candidate eligibility or ballot layout — matters the Constitution reserves to states. Legal experts told both outlets the case lacks precedent.
Alaska's own election officials initially removed Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the ballot after the state Republican Party complained, deeming his candidacy "not in good faith." A state judge overturned that decision in June, and the Alaska Supreme Court affirmed it. The ballot now lists Sen. Sullivan as the "incumbent" and Republican, while the other Sullivan has no party registration.
The Democratic motion questions whether Alaska state officials will mount a vigorous defense, given they previously tried to keep the challenger off the ballot.
NBC News reported in July that federal and state investigators were examining whether Dan J. Sullivan Jr. could be part of a conspiracy to confuse voters, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. Dan J. Sullivan Jr. has denied the allegations. Trump has claimed Democrats "put him up as a matter of confusion," calling the candidacy "corrupt."
The court has not yet set a hearing date. Early voting is already underway. The question the court will face is whether the federal government has the authority to halt state election certification — and whether the same standard of scrutiny applies regardless of which party benefits from the challenge.
