The Department of Justice filed an extraordinary lawsuit seeking to block Alaska from certifying the winner of its upcoming U.S. Senate election if incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses.
The lawsuit cites what it argues is likely voter confusion from the name of another candidate, retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan, on the ballot.
The DOJ says that could help Democratic nominee Mary Peltola defeat the incumbent, Dan S. Sullivan, in what is expected to be a close contest. The Alaska race is one of several Senate contests in November that could determine whether Republicans retain their slim majority in the upper chamber of Congress.
“The United States accordingly brings this lawsuit to protect the integrity of the 2026 Senate election in Alaska,” says the suit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Alaska. In addition to the state, the complaint names Alaska Elections Division Director Carol Beecher, the state’s election boards and the state Ballot Counting Review Board as defendants.
The suit asks a federal judge in Alaska to bar the state from certifying “any result that may be impacted by voter confusion … pending an investigation to determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan.”
The suit alleges that Daniel J. Sullivan’s “sole purpose” of running for the Senate “is to benefit the Peltola campaign by reducing the number of votes for Senator Sullivan.” Sullivan first registered as a Republican earlier this year. He previously was a member of the Alaska Independence Party.
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter rates the Alaska Senate race as one of seven “toss-up” contests for that chamber. The election tracking site FiftyPlusOne’s average of polling shows Peltola, a former U.S. House member from Alaska, with just a two-point lead over Sullivan.
The suit came hours after President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post, wrote, “I am very concerned about the Dan S. Sullivan Race for the U.S. Senate in Alaska in that it is totally confusing, with the Dumocrats putting up another man, totally unrelated to Politics, named Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr.”
“It’s ridiculous that the Court didn’t stop this SCAM. Even 1, 2, or 3% could make the difference,” Trump said.
“We are looking at powerful legal options to remove the fraudulent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the Ballot, and holding the Democrats accountable for their Election Interference, in the pursuit of Justice and Fairness.”
Alaska’s general election for the Senate uses ranked-choice voting. Voters rank their candidates in order of preference. If no candidate gets more than 50% in round one, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated in the second round, and that process continues until there are just two candidates and the winner is the one with the most votes.
“Daniel J. Sullivan’s presence on the ballot threatens to mislead Alaskan citizens who want to vote for Senator Sullivan,” the suit says. “For example, some supporters of Senator Sullivan likely will inadvertently vote for Daniel J. Sullivan.”
“Other supporters of Senator Sullivan likely will be confused as to how to rank the three Republican candidates as to defeat Peltola,” the suit says. “They might not rank Senator Sullivan at all, resulting in votes for Daniel J. Sullivan to be transferred to Peltola after Daniel J. Sullivan’s all-but-guaranteed elimination in the first or second round of tabulations.”
In a statement to CNBC, a DOJ spokesperson said, “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.”
“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,” the spokesperson said.
Nate Adams, the campaign spokesman for Sen. Sullivan, said, “We’ll let the DOJ complaint run its course.”
“Alaskans can tell the difference between a Democrat sideshow and Senator Sullivan’s strong record of delivering for Alaska, a record he’ll keep building on for the next six years,” Adams said.
CNBC has requested comment from Alaska’s attorney general, Daniel J. Sullivan and Peltola.
Devan Barber, director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, in a statement to CNBC said, “Donald Trump knows that Dan Sullivan is going to lose the election, so now his Department of Justice is filing a sham lawsuit to overturn the will of Alaska voters and steal an election when he loses.”
Daniel J. Sullivan originally was blocked from the state’s primary ballot in June, after the Alaska Division of Elections said his candidacy declaration was no properly filed, and because of a finding that the candidacy was aimed at duping voters who planned to vote for Sen. Sullivan.
Among the reasons the division cited were Daniel J. Sullian’s intention to use the name “Dan Sullivan” on the ballot, his request to be designated as affiliated with the Republican Party on the ballot, and his work with a political consultant who is “a known longtime supporter of Decmoratic candidates,” including Peltola, the lawsuit notes.
Daniel J. Sullivan was added to the ballot after asking a trial court judge to review the decision’s determination. The Alaska Supreme Court later upheld that decision.
Daniel J. Sullivan received just 2.5% of the vote in Alaska’s open primary on Aug. 28, but that was enough to win him one of four spots on the Senate general election ballot.
Peltola got 49.5% in the primary, and Sen. Sullivan received 41.4%. Another Republican, Gerald Heikes, received just 1.1% of the primary vote, earning him the fourth spot on the ballot.
Although Daniel J. Sullivan sought to run as a Republican, the Division of Elections decided not to list that party next to his name on the general election ballot. His name is spelled out, “Daniel J. Sullivan,” and there are no other words on that line.
Both Sen. Sullivan, who has been in the Senate since 2015, and Heikes have the words “registered Republican” in parentheses next to their names.
And Sen. Sullivan, listed on the ballot as Dan. S. Sullivan, also has the word “incumbent” next to his name.
— CNBC’s Justin Papp contributed to this article.