President Trump says he ordered a Justice Department lawsuit that could delay Alaska Senate certification over a same-name spoiler candidate, a step his administration ties to election integrity.
President Donald Trump said he personally directed the Justice Department to move in Alaska, where two candidates named Dan Sullivan appear on the ballot for the same U.S. Senate seat. The case could hold up certification of the race while officials sort out voter intent.
Hearst Television reporting describes a Trump administration push on election integrity that also reaches California citizenship checks and related federal actions, with millions of ballots already cast ahead of the midterms.
Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is the incumbent. A second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, appears without a party label. The Justice Department says the look-alike name is no accident.
Trump left no doubt about who green-lit the filing.
He told reporters he gave the order himself.
"I'm the one that said do it,"
The department’s theory is straightforward. It says the second Sullivan is on the ballot to siphon votes from the Republican incumbent and boost Democrat Mary Peltola. Officials want federal court intervention after Alaska’s own process failed to keep the name off the ballot.
Alaska’s Division of Elections tried to disqualify Daniel J. Sullivan. State courts blocked that move. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled he could stay on the ballot.
That left the Justice Department asking a federal court to step in. The department wants certification blocked if the incumbent loses and the votes for the other Sullivan could have changed the outcome. It also wants a delay while officials examine whether voters meant to support the sitting senator.
A Justice Department spokesperson tied the action to findings already made inside Alaska and to federal law.
"Alaska's Division of Elections determined that Mr. Daniel J. Sullivan's candidacy was intended to mislead voters and compromise the fairness of the ballot,"
The same spokesperson framed the next step as protecting the vote, not rewriting it.
"Therefore, the Justice Department, consistent with the National Voter Registration Act enacted by Congress, is taking the necessary steps to ensure that this frivolous candidacy does not undermine the integrity of Alaska's election or the will of its voters."
Breitbart reported the lawsuit’s core claim in sharper terms: that the minor candidate’s sole purpose is to cut into Sen. Sullivan’s total and help the Peltola campaign. The outlet also noted Attorney General Todd Blanche would not rule out action in a severe breakdown scenario, even as he said the department was not preparing a broad interference plan.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski criticized the filing and said the Justice Department should never have brought it. Her objection does not erase the Division of Elections finding that the candidacy was built to mislead.
The Alaska suit is not the administration’s only election-integrity move. The Justice Department has told election officials in at least 18 California counties to verify whether certain voters are U.S. citizens. Counties got 48 hours to hand over identifying information. Ballots are to be set aside if citizenship cannot be confirmed.
California officials have questioned the accuracy of the federal data and warned that eligible voters could get caught up in the review. A hearing in that dispute is set for Tuesday, Oct. 27. The administration has asked an appeals court to move faster than that schedule.
Separately, a federal judge placed limits on certain Homeland Security investigations in nine states. Agents had been going door to door asking residents whether they are citizens and whether they have voted. The judge’s order was put on hold until Oct. 23 so the administration could appeal.
In the same stretch of news, Trump announced he is exempting certain Canadian products from his 50% tariffs, including packaging and equipment used by farmers in Maine. The change takes effect Oct. 30, four days before the midterms. The shift followed pressure from Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who faces a difficult reelection race. The administration is also raising tariffs on other Canadian goods as the trade dispute continues.
None of that changes the ballot problem in Alaska. Two men share one famous name. State election officials said the second candidacy was meant to confuse voters. State courts kept him on the ballot anyway. The Justice Department, on Trump’s order, is now asking a federal court to stop certification from locking in a result that may rest on that confusion.
Voters who already cast ballots deserve a count that reflects their actual choice, not a name-game spoiler. When a state flags a candidacy as misleading and still cannot clear the ballot, federal action to protect the integrity of the result is the responsible course, not a crisis of democracy.
