Justice Department sues Alaska to bar certifying a Senate result it says could reflect voter confusion

President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, that he directed the Justice Department lawsuit filed the night before over Alaska’s U.S. Senate election. “I’m the one that said do it,” he said after landing in Florida for a campaign rally, The Associated Press reported.¹

The department filed United States v. State of Alaska, No. 3:26-cv-00376, in federal court in Alaska on Oct. 22 against the state, Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, the state’s election boards and its ballot counting review board. U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason is assigned. As of Friday afternoon, the docket showed no filing from the state.²

Brought under the National Voter Registration Act, the suit asks the court to bar certification of any result “that may be impacted by voter confusion” pending an investigation into whether votes for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., whom the complaint calls Daniel J. Sullivan, were meant for Sen. Dan Sullivan. The complaint defines such a result as one in which the senator loses but would have won had every vote for Daniel J. Sullivan gone to him in the ranked-choice count.³

What the complaint alleges

The complaint alleges that Daniel J. Sullivan, who it says had never before run for political office, is running to mislead the senator’s supporters into voting for him and to help Peltola’s campaign, and that some of the senator’s supporters are likely to vote for the wrong Sullivan or misrank the Republican candidates. These are allegations in a civil complaint; no court has ruled on them. Daniel J. Sullivan is not a defendant in the suit.³ The complaint relies on a June 15 letter in which Beecher, acting on two complaints filed on behalf of the Alaska Republican Party’s chair, decertified his candidacy after concluding his declaration of candidacy was not filed in good faith.⁴

State courts reversed that decision. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Matthews ordered him restored to the ballot on June 26, finding the division had applied a good-faith requirement that appears in no statute or regulation, Alaska’s News Source reported.⁵ The Alaska Supreme Court summarily affirmed on June 29 and said a full opinion would follow; the complaint says that opinion has not been issued.³

The responses

A Justice Department spokesperson told NBC News that the department is acting under the voter registration law so that the candidacy does not “undermine the integrity of Alaska’s election.” Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate, wrote on X that the senator is “using his DC allies to try to keep himself in power,” NBC News reported.⁶ Nate Adams, a spokesman for Sen. Sullivan’s campaign, told the AP, “We’ll let the DOJ complaint run its course.”¹

Daniel J. Sullivan did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the AP or NBC News. In June, he told the AP he had “every right to run for whatever office I’m qualified for,” NBC News reported; the AP reported he has said he decided to run on his own.¹⁶ In a June 3 letter to Beecher, he wrote that he had “no intention to confuse or mislead the voters,” Alaska’s News Source reported.⁵ Neither outlet’s report included a response from the state.¹⁶

The candidates

Of the 16 candidates in the Aug. 18 primary, the six on the division’s general election candidate list received these votes, official results show: Gerald L. Heikes, 1,741, or 1.05%; Sidney “Sid” Hill, 522, or 0.31%; Heather McElwain, 972, or 0.59%; Mary Peltola, 82,244, or 49.54%; Dan S. Sullivan, 68,726, or 41.40%; and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., 4,107, or 2.47%.⁷

The division’s general election candidate list, last updated Sept. 25, shows these U.S. Senate candidates and their voter registration:⁸

• Gerald L. Heikes, registered Republican
• Sidney “Sid” Hill, undeclared (certified write-in)
• Heather McElwain, registered Libertarian (certified write-in)
• Mary Peltola, registered Democrat
• Dan S. Sullivan, registered Republican (incumbent)
• Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., registered Republican

Primary results list no party beside Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s name, and NBC News reported the general election ballot shows none.⁷⁶

What the records do not show

• The complaint does not say who would conduct the investigation it seeks or how voters’ intent would be determined.³
• The docket shows no hearing date as of Oct. 23.²
• The complaint gives the primary date as Aug. 28; official results give Aug. 18.³⁷
• The Alaska Supreme Court has not issued its full opinion, according to the complaint.³