US Attorney General Todd Blanche has defended the Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking to block the automatic certification of Alaska’s Senate election results if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan loses. He denied that the Trump administration was preparing to challenge an unfavorable result in the November 3 midterm elections.
Blanche addressed the issue during an interview with CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. He said the lawsuit was intended to address possible voter confusion caused by two candidates with similar names, not to give President Donald Trump control over a state election.
The case has drawn criticism from Democrats and raised questions about the federal government’s role in election administration. Alaska’s Senate race is also important for Republicans as they seek to retain control of the chamber for the remaining years of Trump’s presidency.
Blanche rejects claims of political interference
During the interview, CNN anchor Dana Bash asked whether the lawsuit was laying the groundwork for Trump to challenge election results he disliked.
“We’re not laying any groundwork for the president to do that,” Blanche said.
He also rejected the suggestion that Trump was trying to take over Alaska’s election process. The attorney general maintained that the dispute concerned compliance with federal law and the state’s responsibility to prevent confusion among voters.
The discussion became heated when Bash brought up Blanche’s earlier description of possible Justice Department involvement in election certification as a “doomsday” scenario.
She asked whether the lawsuit risked repeating events surrounding the 2020 presidential election and the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
Blanche objected to the comparison and called the suggestion unreasonable. He also criticized CNN for connecting the Alaska case to the events following the 2020 election.
The attorney general insisted that the lawsuit was focused on whether Alaska’s election procedures complied with federal law and constitutional requirements.
Two Sullivans appear on the ballot
The legal dispute centers on two candidates with similar names who are running in Alaska’s Senate election.
Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan is seeking reelection against Democrat Mary Peltola, a former member of Congress. Another candidate, retired schoolteacher Daniel J. Sullivan of Petersburg, is also running for the seat.
Republicans have accused the schoolteacher of entering the race to draw votes away from the incumbent. Daniel J. Sullivan has denied that his campaign is intended to confuse voters or weaken the senator’s chances.
The Justice Department argues that the similarity between the names could cause some voters to select the wrong candidate.
Alaska election officials have already taken steps to distinguish the two men. The incumbent is listed as “Dan S. Sullivan” and identified as a registered Republican and sitting senator. The other candidate appears as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” without a party label.
The state uses ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank candidates according to their preferences. Voters can rank both candidates if they wish.
During the August primary, the incumbent received more than 68,000 votes, while Daniel J. Sullivan received 4,107.
DOJ seeks to delay election certification
The Justice Department filed its lawsuit in federal court in Alaska late Thursday. The filing cites the National Voter Registration Act and asks the court to prevent certification of election results that may have been affected by voter confusion.
Under the department’s request, certification could be delayed while officials investigate whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were actually intended for the incumbent senator.
However, the department has not explained how it could determine voters’ intentions after ballots have been cast in secret.
Blanche argued that states have a duty to prevent confusion during elections. He said the legal question was whether Alaska had met its obligations under federal law.
State courts had previously allowed Daniel J. Sullivan to remain on the ballot after Republican election officials challenged his candidacy. Both a state court and the Alaska Supreme Court declined to remove him.
Blanche said those rulings had not addressed the federal legal questions raised by the Justice Department’s lawsuit.
Trump confirms he ordered the case
Trump acknowledged on Friday that he had directed the Justice Department to file the lawsuit.
“I’m the one that said do it,” he told reporters in Florida.
The president’s statement intensified scrutiny of the case, given its potential effect on the certification process in a closely watched Senate contest.
Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who supports Dan Sullivan’s reelection, criticized the federal lawsuit. She argued that the state had already taken steps to distinguish the candidates and that the Justice Department should not have brought the case.
The dispute comes as both parties prepare for the midterm elections. Control of the Senate will help determine how easily Trump can advance his legislative priorities and secure support for his administration’s policies.
The lawsuit now places Alaska’s election procedures under federal scrutiny. The court’s decision could affect whether the state can certify its Senate results through its usual process if the vote appears to have been affected by confusion over the candidates’ names.
With Election Day approaching, the case has become a broader debate over voter protection, state authority and the federal government’s role in elections.
