President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he directed the Department of Justice to file a lawsuit challenging the results of Alaska’s Senate race if it’s impacted by “voter confusion.”
Incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (R-AK) is running for reelection in a toss-up race against Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK). The race, which is already at single-digit margins in polling between Sen. Sullivan and Peltola, is further complicated by the fact that a second Dan Sullivan, former Forest Service employee Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., is also on the ballot.
“I’m the one that said ‘do it,'” Trump told reporters in Florida on Friday. “They have two guys named Dan Sullivan running. So the Democrats put up a guy — never, I don’t think he ever voted before — all of a sudden he decides to run for the Senate. And his name is Dan Sullivan.”
DOJ FILES LAWSUIT TO BLOCK RESULTS IN ALASKA SENATE RACE AFTER TWO DAN SULLIVANS LAND ON NOVEMBER BALLOT
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska that asked the court to block the November general results if they are at all “tainted by the inclusion on the ballot of Daniel J. Sullivan.”
“Given the substantial likelihood that the inclusion of Daniel 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,” the DOJ lawyers wrote in the filing.
Trump, who has been frustrated by the inclusion of the man who Republicans have called “Decoy Dan” on the ballot, confirmed Friday that he was “the one” who told the DOJ to move forward with the lawsuit. He accused Daniel J. Sullivan of being a Democratic plant in the race.
“He has nothing to do with politics,” Trump said of Daniel J. Sullivan. “It’s a disgrace.”
The DOJ noted in the lawsuit that Daniel J. Sullivan told The New York Times that he has voted for Democrats, including Peltola, in recent elections and worked with a political consultant who has long been a supporter of Democrats.
ALASKA BALLOT SITUATION PUTS THREE REPUBLICANS AGAINST ONE DEMOCRAT IN TWO STATEWIDE RACES
Daniel J. Sullivan registered as a Republican in the state’s Senate race and was initially removed from the ballot by the state’s Division of Elections. After the Alaska Supreme Court restored his spot on the ballot, his party affiliation was changed to nonpartisan, as recommended by the division.
According to the polling average from Real Clear Polling, Peltola leads incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan by an average of 1.2 percentage points in the state’s ranked-choice Senate race, within the average margin of error. The Polymarket odds also favor Peltola.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
