The US Justice Department sued Alaska on Thursday, October 22, 2026, in federal court in Anchorage, asking a judge to block certification of the state's US Senate result if Republican incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan loses and votes cast for a namesake challenger, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., could have changed the outcome, Reuters and the Associated Press reported.
Source: Reuters
The complaint, United States v. Alaska, No. 3:26-cv-00376, names the state, Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher and the state's election boards. It asks the court to stop officials from certifying any result that may be impacted by voter confusion, pending an investigation into whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan. The department's claim rests on the National Voter Registration Act, citing its stated purpose of protecting the integrity of the electoral process.
The Justice Department alleges that Daniel J. Sullivan, a former US Forest Service worker and retired teacher from Petersburg who filed to run on May 29, is running with the intention of misleading the senator's supporters and benefiting Democrat Mary Peltola — an allegation, not a court finding. Daniel J. Sullivan has denied in interviews that his aim is to cause confusion or divert votes, and he has said his candidacy is his own decision. Alaska's Supreme Court earlier allowed him to stay on the ballot, overturning an elections-director removal, and on the ballot he is listed as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.” with no party affiliation, while the senator is listed as the incumbent.
President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday, October 23, that he supported the lawsuit and had directed it, saying, “I'm the one that said do it,” according to Reuters and AP reporting. A Justice Department spokesperson said the agency is taking necessary steps to ensure the candidacy does not undermine the integrity of Alaska's election, and Attorney General Todd Blanche said it is not the department's intention to improperly interfere with elections, the AP reported.
Election-law experts quoted in the coverage were sharply critical. Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller wrote that the statute does not let the Justice Department enjoin certification and called the legal argument one of the worst he has ever seen. The November 3 race between Senator Sullivan and Peltola, a former US representative, is closely contested in polling, and control of the US Senate could come down to Alaska.
The lawsuit does not ask the court to remove Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot and does not itself block or change the November 3 election; it is a request for a court order, and no judge has ruled on it yet.