Seeing Double? Blanche Defends DOJ Alaska Election Lawsuit, Denies Bid To Overturn Senate Race
Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended a Justice Department lawsuit that seeks to block Alaska from certifying its U.S. Senate race if the Republican incumbent loses, denying that the Trump administration is attempting to improperly intervene in state election outcomes.
The legal dispute focuses on the presence of two candidates with nearly identical names on Alaska’s general election ballot: incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and challenger Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. Incumbent Dan Sullivan faces Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola in a race that could determine the balance of power in the Senate.
Republicans have contended that the second Sullivan, a retired teacher, launched his candidacy to confuse voters and peel support away from the incumbent. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in June that the second Sullivan could remain on the ballot, prompting state officials to print ballots identifying the incumbent as a registered Republican and incumbent while listing the challenger without a party affiliation.
President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he directed the Justice Department to take legal action.
“I’m the one that said, ‘do it,'” Trump said.
Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Blanche rejected assertions that the administration is laying the groundwork to contest an unfavorable outcome in the midterm elections.
Attorney General Todd Blanche
“We are not, President Trump is not trying to take over a state election in any way, shape, or form,” Blanche said. “What we’re trying to do is make it clear that if it is obvious after the election that confusion led to an improper and illegal result, that the Alaskan system should be able to address that.”
The lawsuit, filed late last week under the National Voter Registration Act, asks a federal judge to prevent Alaska from certifying the election if the incumbent loses, pending a review of whether voter confusion altered the outcome.
Host Dana Bash pressed Blanche on the constitutional authority for the federal intervention, noting that Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution delegates the administration of elections to state governments.
Blanche argued that the Alaska Supreme Court did not examine federal statutory requirements when making its summer ruling.
“The Alaska Supreme Court explicitly didn’t consider federal law. That wasn’t before them,” Blanche said, adding that the Justice Department’s civil rights unit concluded the federal statute required action.
Attorney General, Todd Blanche, holds a press briefing in the Rose Garden of
the White House, Tuesday, September 15, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Cashen Turner)
The legal maneuver has also met resistance from within the Republican Party. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski criticized the lawsuit on Friday, saying the state had already taken adequate measures to differentiate between the two names.
“Alaskans don’t need any help voting for their preferred candidates, and the state of Alaska has already handled this by clearly distinguishing the candidates on this year’s ballot,” Murkowski wrote on social media, adding that the Justice Department “should never have filed this lawsuit.”
Alaska conducts its elections using a ranked-choice voting system, which Blanche suggested could provide evidence of voter error on individual ballots if the matter proceeds to court.
“Because of rank-based voting, voters, they write not just one, not just two, but multiple names on the ballot,” Blanche said. “And so there are a number of scenarios where it could be obvious that a voter was confused by the way they wrote down candidates.”
Federal courts are expected to consider the Justice Department’s complaint ahead of Election Day.
Vote (File)