Federal Judge Dismisses Trump‑Backed Suit Seeking to Block Alaska Senate Certification

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit backed by Donald Trump that sought to prevent certification of Alaska’s US Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan were to lose.

Trump said on Oct. 23 that he had directed the Justice Department to file the lawsuit, a move voting‑rights experts denounced as an “unprecedented intervention” that could affect control of Congress.

The Justice Department argued in the suit—filed less than two weeks before Election Day—that the presence of two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the November ballot could cause “voter confusion,” potentially diverting votes from the Republican incumbent and benefiting Democratic nominee Mary Peltola.

Incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan, in a CNN interview Sunday morning, said he would accept the results of the upcoming election.

A New York Times investigation reported that Peltola’s campaign aides recruited another man sharing the Sullivan name to enter the race, a tactic intended to siphon votes from the Republican incumbent.

Following the revelations, Republicans, including Donald Trump, have demanded that Peltola be disqualified from the race and face criminal prosecution. Peltola has consistently denied any knowledge of such a scheme, telling a reporter at a campaign event that she had “no idea” whether any staff were involved.

When CNN’s Jake Tapper asked whether Sullivan would accept the results only if he won, the senator replied, “No, I’m going to accept the election results.”

Earlier in the Tapper interview, Sullivan said his focus was on winning the race outright, not on potential legal challenges to Peltola’s campaign. However, he expressed doubt that Peltola was unaware of the effort to place a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot.

“She’s continually lying to the Alaskan people,” Sullivan said. “And I guarantee you, she’s lying right now.”

The Washington Post also reported that Republicans attempted to promote unelectable Democratic candidates in Alaska’s primaries. A Republican super‑PAC supported two Senate candidates who did not reside in Alaska, touting them as “progressives” akin to Bernie Sanders.

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