A federal judge on Sunday dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit, backed by President Donald Trump, that sought to stop officials from certifying Alaska’s Senate race results if incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan lost. The Alaska Senate race lawsuit was rejected in a ruling reported by NBC News.
U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said the relief sought was "infeasible" because many voters had already cast ballots, according to PBS NewsHour. Gleason wrote that the administration’s attempt to block certification ran counter to the Constitution, which gives states authority to run elections, and cited the Purcell principle, according to PBS NewsHour.
The Justice Department said it would appeal. A spokesperson said, "Alaskan voters deserve a fair election, not to be misled in an attempt to rig outcomes," according to the Guardian.
Trump said on 23 October that he had ordered the Justice Department to file the lawsuit, citing concern over voter confusion from a second candidate named Dan Sullivan, according to the Guardian. That candidate, Dan J. Sullivan, received about 2.5% of the August primary vote, enough to qualify for the Nov. 3 ranked-choice election against Democrat Mary Peltola and incumbent Dan Sullivan, according to PBS NewsHour.
The incumbent told CNN he would accept the election results, according to the Guardian.
The broader dispute has other threads. A New York Times investigation reported that aides from Peltola’s campaign recruited a man sharing Sullivan’s name to run, a claim Peltola has denied knowledge of. The Times investigation was not reviewed directly for this report; its claims come via the Guardian and AP. According to AP, Alaska’s Republican governor has ordered an investigation and suggested he may not certify a possible Peltola victory. State courts, including the Alaska Supreme Court, earlier rejected a Republican-backed effort to remove Dan J. Sullivan from the primary ballot.
The Justice Department plans to appeal the ruling, and the filing details and timing have not yet been reported. The Senate election is set for Nov. 3 under ranked-choice voting.
Several points remain unclear. The details of the ruling come from a short NBC News excerpt and PBS NewsHour, and the reported federal probe into the candidate recruitment and Trump’s call for Peltola’s prosecution are not independently confirmed. According to AP, Dan J. Sullivan has not responded to multiple messages, and attorneys for the Alaska state government did not immediately return requests for comment. A Washington Post report that Republicans boosted Democratic candidates in the primaries has not been verified by a second outlet.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.