Attorney General Todd Blanche said Saturday that the Justice Department’s lawsuit concerning Alaska’s Senate election is not intended to prevent the state from certifying its results. His statement came after the department filed a suit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, claiming it was acting to “protect the integrity” of the election.
The lawsuit argues that the presence on the ballot of a candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan—who shares a name with incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R)—could unfairly benefit Democrat Mary Peltola in the upcoming Senate race. According to the filing, Daniel J. Sullivan entered the race “as a Republican with the intention of misleading” the incumbent’s supporters, and that his sole purpose is “to benefit the Peltola campaign by reducing the number of votes for Senator Sullivan.”
“Should Alaska certify any electoral results tainted by the inclusion on the ballot of Daniel J. Sullivan … the State and its officers will fail in its obligation to protect the integrity of its election,” the filing states. It adds: “The United States accordingly brings this lawsuit to protect the integrity of the 2026 Senate election in Alaska.”
Blanche, in a post on X, pushed back against characterizations that the suit seeks to interfere with voting or certification. “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,” he wrote. He also said the lawsuit “does not seek to stop any ballot from being cast or to stop the certification of Alaska’s election.”
President Trump has said he directed the Justice Department to file the suit, according to prior reporting. The move comes amid heightened scrutiny of election procedures by the department as midterms approach, a trend examined in recent coverage of DOJ election oversight.
Peltola, the Democratic Senate nominee, sharply criticized the lawsuit in an interview with MS Now, calling it “a very desperate attempt to cling to power.” She added: “We’ve been running great elections for decades. There have never really been any abnormalities or irregularities to speak of. I have total confidence in Alaskans’ ability to know who they’re voting for.” Her remarks echo her earlier characterization of the suit as a partisan maneuver, as reported in Peltola’s response to the DOJ lawsuit.
Earlier this year, Daniel J. Sullivan’s campaign already faced legal hurdles. The director of the Alaska Division of Elections, Carol Beecher, attempted to remove him from the primary ballot and disqualify his campaign, citing similarities between his logo and Sen. Sullivan’s. Sullivan, a Petersburg resident with no party affiliation, challenged the move in court, and a Superior Court judge ruled in June that he could remain on the ballot for the state’s August primary.
The Justice Department’s intervention has also drawn attention to broader questions about election certification and the potential for federal involvement in state races. Blanche has previously declined to rule out the possibility of the DOJ blocking election certification in other contexts, a stance that continues to fuel debate, as noted in Blanche’s refusal to rule out certification blocks.
With the 2026 Senate election still months away, the lawsuit is likely to intensify political tensions in Alaska and beyond. The case will now proceed in federal court, where both sides are expected to argue over the scope of the Justice Department’s authority and the potential for voter confusion. For now, Blanche’s reassurances have done little to quiet critics who see the suit as an unprecedented federal intrusion into state election administration.
