Judge dismisses lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska Senate
race if GOP incumbent loses
[November 02, 2026]
By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and BECKY BOHRER
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge on Sunday dismissed a Justice
Department lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska’s U.S.
Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses, the latest
development in a ballot controversy that has roiled the final days of
one of the nation’s most closely watched races.
Sullivan, an ally of President Donald Trump, faces Democrat Mary Peltola,
a former congresswoman, in a race that is among a handful expected to
determine which party controls the Senate for the final two years of
Trump's term.
Tuesday’s ranked-choice election also includes two candidates who have
done little campaigning, one of whom shares the incumbent’s name. It was
that candidate's presence on the ballot that prompted Trump to push for
the lawsuit out of fear he would siphon votes from the incumbent.
Shortly after the ruling, the Justice Department filed a notice that it
would appeal: “Alaskan voters deserve a fair election, not to be misled
in an attempt to rig outcomes,” a department spokesperson said in a
statement.
The lawsuit, filed less than two weeks before the election and as early
voting was underway, called for an investigation into whether votes for
retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan were intended for the senator. The state
said the case lacked merit and argued there would be no way to determine
that without violating voter privacy.
U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said the relief the federal
government sought was “infeasible” because many voters have already cast
their ballots.
“More fundamentally, the United States provides no workable plan as to
how it proposes to segregate ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan on
Election Day and then conduct a court-ordered unspecified
'investigation' of those ballots in a manner that would preserve voter
secrecy,” she wrote.
Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
argued that the case lacked any legal basis and amounted to election
interference.
“Today’s ruling is a victory for democracy and a clear message to Donald
Trump and Senate Republicans: No one, no matter how powerful, can toss
out free and fair elections just because they don’t like the result,"
said the committee's executive director, Devan Barber.
Peltola's campaign hailed the ruling. “No sham investigation or baseless
lawsuit from a weaponized Department of Justice is going to stop
Alaskans from electing Mary on Nov. 3 so she can lower costs for
Alaska’s working families," the campaign said in a statement, alluding
to a federal probe disclosed after President Donald Trump said last week
that he wanted Peltola prosecuted for the scheme.
Attorneys for the state did not immediately return messages seeking
comment.
Senator says he expects ‘to lose a lot of votes’ to the other Dan
Sullivan
The senator and his allies, including Trump, for months have portrayed
Dan J. Sullivan as a sham candidate intent on confusing voters and
helping Peltola.
Earlier Sunday, Sen. Sullivan told CNN that he thought the presence of
the second Sullivan on the ballot would affect the election.
“I’m sure I’m going to lose a lot of votes to that trickery,” he said.
He also said he doubted claims by Peltola that she had no idea her top
political aides were involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan to run as a
way to confuse voters.
“There is no way this went on for a year that they weren’t informing
her,” Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “She got caught lying,
and she’s still lying to the Alaskan people, the media, to all of us.”
In the week before Election Day, The New York Times reported that
Peltola’s campaign was involved in efforts to recruit the second
Sullivan. Shortly after entering the race in June, Dan J. Sullivan said
he’d had no contact with her campaign about running. He has not
responded to multiple messages over the past few days.
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Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, hands out candy at a Halloween event
outside the Big Lake Lions Club, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Big
Lake, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
His recent public absence prompted a social media post Sunday by the
president: “The Fake Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr., has DISAPPEARED!
Nobody can find him, including Law Enforcement.”
Peltola’s campaign responded to the Times story by saying it had no
involvement in the campaigns for either Sullivan: "I am not
interested in tricking voters,” Peltola said during a recent
campaign event.
In its statement indicating its plans to appeal, the Justice
Department said the federal judge dismissed the case on procedural
grounds but did not dispute the government's argument that Dan J.
Sullivan entered the race “as a frivolous candidate to confuse
voters.”
Multiple investigations look into whether Dan J. Sullivan was
recruited as a decoy candidate
State courts, including the Alaska Supreme Court, rejected an
earlier Republican-backed effort to block the retired teacher from
the August open primary ballot on which he appeared as Daniel J.
Sullivan Jr., with no party affiliation. The senator was listed as
Dan S. Sullivan, Republican and incumbent.
Both Sullivans appear the same way on the general election ballot.
Peltola placed first in the primary, followed by the senator. Dan J.
Sullivan received about 2.5% of the primary vote, but that was
enough to finish within the top four and qualify for the Nov. 3
ranked-choice election.
Attorneys for the Alaska Department of Law represented state
elections officials in the case and asked Gleason, who was appointed
by former Democratic President Barack Obama, to toss the lawsuit.
They filed a scathing response to the federal government’s
complaint, calling it “meritless.”
Alaska also said the state had taken “significant steps” to
distinguish the two Sullivans on the ballot. Voters who still might
be confused could ask for help or look up candidate biographies and
other information in state-distributed election pamphlets.
Republicans, including ones working with Trump, also have a long
history of backing decoy candidates in elections. The governor, a
Republican, has ordered an investigation and suggested he may not
certify a possible Peltola victory.
In her ruling, Gleason wrote that the Trump administration’s attempt
to block certification ran counter to the Constitution, which gives
states the authority to run elections. She also cited the Supreme
Court’s Purcell principle, which holds that federal courts should
generally not change election rules too close to an election.
Kristen Clarke, general counsel of the NAACP, which had filed a
brief supporting the case’s dismissal, called the judge’s decision
“a big win for the voters in Alaska.”
“The law is clear, and the DOJ’s case was a baseless, eleventh-hour
attempt to hijack this midterm election,” she said.
On Thursday, the Justice Department escalated a criminal
investigation over the presence of Dan J. Sullivan on the Alaska
ballot, issuing a raft of new grand jury subpoenas, a person
familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The FBI also has
begun contacting people who donated to him, some of whom told the AP
that the agents were asking if they had been misled about which
candidate they were supporting.
___
Riccardi reported from Washington. Associated Press photographer
Lindsey Wasson in Anchorage, Alaska, and AP writer Ali Swenson in
Washington contributed to this report.
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