The Trump administration filed a federal lawsuit on 22 October to block the certification of the Senate election in Alaska. The justice department argues that the inclusion of a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot could cause voters to mistakenly cast their votes for the wrong candidate.
The Senate election in Alaska is scheduled for 3 November. President Donald Trump stated, "I'm the one that said do it," and described the second Sullivan's candidacy as a scam.
The Alaska Supreme Court previously rejected attempts to remove the second Sullivan from the ballot. Before registering as a Republican earlier this year, the second Sullivan was a member of the Alaska Independence Party.
Stanley E Woodward Jr said, "Given the substantial likelihood that the inclusion of Dan J. Sullivan will confuse or mislead voters looking to cast a vote for Senator Sullivan and thus distort the will of Alaskan voters, there is a substantial likelihood that a certification of the election will reflect an electoral process that lacked integrity." Dan J Sullivan said he "wouldn't even know who to speak to" regarding the situation.
In 2024, President Trump won the Senate race in Alaska by 14 percentage points.
