Justice Department sues to block Alaska Senate certification if Sullivan loses

The Trump administration has asked a federal court to stop Alaska from certifying its US Senate result if Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses, arguing that a second candidate named Dan J. Sullivan entered the race to confuse the senator's supporters.

The US Justice Department has filed a lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska's US Senate election under certain conditions, in a move tied to the race between Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola.

The suit, filed Thursday in the US District Court for the District of Alaska, names the state and several election officials as defendants. It seeks declaratory and injunctive relief that would apply statewide.

The Alaska State Capitol in Juneau covered in snow

At the center of the case is a second candidate on the ballot, Dan J. Sullivan, a resident of Petersburg who advanced from the August primary to the November ballot. The complaint alleges that he entered the race to mislead supporters of the incumbent senator and to sow confusion among voters because of the near-identical names.

The complaint argues that if Alaska certifies any result affected by Dan J. Sullivan's presence on the ballot, the state and its officials will have failed in their duty to protect the integrity of the election.

The filing comes ahead of the November midterm elections, in which Democrats and Republicans are fighting for control of the Senate. Alaska is generally considered a Republican stronghold, and Donald Trump carried the state by double digits in the 2024 presidential election, but forecasters rate the Sullivan-Peltola contest a toss-up.