The Justice Department has filed a preemptive lawsuit seeking to prevent Alaska from certifying the outcome of the state’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, saying the presence of a second candidate named Dan Sullivan on the ballot risks confusing voters. President Donald Trump said Friday he had directed the department to bring the case, which was filed on Thursday.
The suit centers on Daniel J. Sullivan, who appears on the ballot with no party affiliation. Republicans and the Justice Department contend his candidacy was intended to mislead voters and draw support away from incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, who is running for re-election. President Trump told reporters, “Well, I’m one that said, ‘Do it,'” and later characterized Daniel J. Sullivan as “the fake,” saying, “They have two guys run named Dan Sullivan running. So the Democrats put up a guy never — I don’t think he ever voted before.”
In a filing on Thursday, the Justice Department’s number-three official, Stanley Woodward, warned that Alaska must not certify results “tainted by the inclusion on the ballot of Daniel J. Sullivan.” Woodward wrote that certification should be blocked if: “(1) Senator Sullivan does not win the election; and (2) had all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan been cast instead for Senator Sullivan and Alaska’s rank-choice process played out accordingly, Senator Sullivan would have won the election.”
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A Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement that Alaska’s Division of Elections had determined Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy “was intended to mislead voters and compromise the fairness of the ballot,” and that the department was acting “consistent with the National Voter Registration Act enacted by Congress” to protect the integrity of the election and “the will of its voters.”
The lawsuit follows a series of state-level legal decisions. Over the summer, Alaska’s election office initially concluded that Daniel J. Sullivan’s run was not in good faith and moved to remove him from the ballot, saying the candidacy was meant “to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot’s fairness or neutrality.” Daniel J. Sullivan sued, and a state judge ruled he was eligible to appear on the primary ballot. The Alaska Supreme Court later upheld that ruling, after which the Justice Department began its investigation and filed the federal complaint.
Sen. Sullivan’s campaign responded to the filing through a spokesperson, saying, “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.” Democratic challenger Mary Peltola’s campaign called the suit “a despicable political threat to overturn an election.”
The Alaska Secretary of State’s office and a campaign spokesperson for Daniel J. Sullivan did not respond to a request for comment, according to ABC News. The network also reported that President Trump had posted on social media on Wednesday that he was exploring “powerful legal options” to remove Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot.
Asked just hours before the lawsuit was filed about the prospect of the Justice Department intervening in state election processes, Alaska Attorney General Todd Blanche said he would not rule out federal involvement in an extreme scenario but emphasized that it is not the department’s intention “to improperly interfere with elections or the state confirmation process or certification process.”
ABC News contributed reporting to this article.
