Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department’s lawsuit over Alaska’s closely watched Senate election on Saturday, as Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said the department “should never have filed” the case.
The unusual legal battle centers on two Senate candidates who share the same first and last names: incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan and retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. The dispute comes in a race that could help determine control of the Senate.
Blanche said in a post on X that the Justice Department “does not seek to stop any ballot from being cast or to stop the certification of Alaska’s election.”
“This litigation seeks to ensure that after Alaskans cast their ballots, they are preserved in a manner so that only Alaska’s governing officials have the information necessary to make a determination as to whether Alaskan voters were confused or mislead [sic],” Blanche wrote.
He added: “The lawsuit was written by Justice Department attorneys and the Department did not coordinate with any campaign or candidate, but rather relied solely on federal law.”
The statement comes after President Donald Trump said Friday that he had told the DOJ to bring the lawsuit.
Trump has endorsed the incumbent Sullivan and repeatedly alleged that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s candidacy was intended to confuse voters and hurt the senator. At a rally in Florida on Friday, Trump called the situation “cheating like hell.”
Newsweek reached out to Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign, Senator Sullivan’s campaign, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and the Alaska Division of Elections for comment on Saturday.
Lisa Murkowski Says DOJ ‘Should Never Have Filed’ Alaska Lawsuit
Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who has frequently broken with Trump, pushed back against the Justice Department’s case on Saturday.
“Alaskans don’t need any help voting for their preferred candidates, and the State of Alaska has already handled this by clearly distinguishing the candidates on this year’s ballot,” Murkowski wrote on X.
“The Department of Justice should never have filed this lawsuit.”
On the ballot, the incumbent appears as Dan S. Sullivan and is labeled “Incumbent,” while the other candidate is listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.
Alaska election officials removed Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the ballot after concluding his candidacy was intended to confuse or mislead voters, but he challenged the decision and was later restored to the ballot by the courts.
Why Is the DOJ Suing Alaska Over the Senate Election?
The Justice Department filed its lawsuit Thursday against Alaska and state election officials, alleging that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s candidacy was intended to mislead voters into backing him instead of the incumbent.
The DOJ contends the “sole purpose” of his candidacy is to benefit Peltola by reducing the number of votes cast for Senator Sullivan.
The DOJ is seeking to block certification if Senator Sullivan loses by fewer votes than Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. receives, pending an investigation into potential voter confusion.
Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has rejected the suggestion that his candidacy is illegitimate. After he was restored to the ballot earlier this year, he said he was running because he was dissatisfied with the incumbent’s representation.
“It’s a free country,” he said at the time, according to Courthouse News Service. “Most Alaskans are proud Independents and it’s my sincere hope that people know who and what they are voting for but ultimately, choice is good and voters’ intent will be as varied as the candidates who are running.”
Trump Says He Told DOJ to Bring Alaska Lawsuit
In a Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump called Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s candidacy a “SCAM” and said his administration was looking at “powerful legal options” to remove him from the ballot.
After the DOJ filed the case, Trump took credit for the move.
“I’m the one that said ‘do it,’” he told reporters Friday.
A motion seeking dismissal of the lawsuit has since cited Trump’s remark in arguing that the DOJ case was “filed at the behest” of the president. The motion, filed on behalf of two Alaska voters, the League of Women Voters of Alaska and Common Cause, also asks the court to consider sanctions against the Justice Department attorneys who signed the complaint.
Election-law experts have also questioned the legal basis for the case.
“The DOJ’s lawsuit is completely meritless,” Michael Morley, the Sheila M. McDevitt Professor of Law and faculty director of the Election Law Center at Florida State University, previously told Newsweek.
Mark Brown, a professor at Capital University Law School, similarly previously told Newsweek that “no federal statute authorizes the relief the DOJ seeks” and called the lawsuit “frivolous.”
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Why the Alaska Senate Race Matters
The dispute comes just days before the November 3 midterm elections, with the Alaska contest among the races that could determine control of the U.S. Senate.
Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority. Peltola is seeking to become the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Alaska since Mark Begich won in 2008.
Alaska uses ranked-choice voting. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of first-choice votes, the lowest-performing candidate is eliminated and those ballots are redistributed according to voters’ subsequent choices until one candidate has a majority.
Four candidates are competing in the Senate race: Peltola, Senator Dan S. Sullivan, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and Gerald Heikes.