Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department’s Alaska lawsuit on national television on Sunday, telling CNN’s Dana Bash that the namesake candidate on Alaska’s Senate ballot had a “sole purpose” — to pull votes away from Senator Dan Sullivan. The interview, on “State of the Union,” put the administration’s case for a suit that asks a federal court to hold up certification of Alaska’s Senate result if Sullivan loses.
The race at issue is one of the closest in the country. Sullivan, the Republican incumbent, faces former Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat, in a contest the Cook Political Report rates a toss-up. Also on the ballot is Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher whose name differs from the senator’s by a middle initial and a suffix, and who is listed on the ballot with no party designation.
Asked For The Crime, Blanche Cited Confusion
Bash pressed Blanche on the state-court record: earlier this year, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. could remain on the ballot. Blanche answered with Congress’s power over elections, pointing to the second clause of Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution, the provision under which Congress may make or alter state rules for the times, places and manner of federal elections. He said the namesake’s “sole purpose was to pull votes away” from the senator. Asked what the crime is, Blanche said: “There could be a crime, but the real wrong here is that Alaskans are gonna be confused.”
The Lawsuit Behind The Interview
The Justice Department sued the State of Alaska on Thursday, October 22, in United States v. Alaska, filed in federal court in Anchorage and assigned to Judge Sharon L. Gleason. The complaint, signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward and invoking the National Voter Registration Act, asks the court to bar the state from certifying a result in which Sullivan loses to Peltola, where counting every vote cast for the namesake as a vote for the senator — with Alaska’s ranked-choice process played out accordingly — would have changed the outcome. It does not ask that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. be removed from the ballot. The Daily reported the filing in full on Thursday: Justice Department Sues To Block Certification Of Alaska’s Senate Result If The Republican Loses.
The department’s public position predates the interview. A spokesperson, Audrey Cook, said on Thursday that Alaska’s Division of Elections had itself determined the namesake’s candidacy was intended to mislead voters, and Blanche told reporters the same day that “it is not DOJ’s intention to, and it’s never our intention to, improperly interfere with elections or the state certification process.” President Trump said on Friday, October 23, that he supported the lawsuit: “I’m the one that said do it.” Alaska’s own courts went the other way earlier in the year: the Division of Elections removed the namesake from the ballot, a state judge reversed that decision, and in June the Alaska Supreme Court summarily allowed him to remain.
Alaska votes on Tuesday, November 3, the same Election Day as the rest of the country. If certification were blocked, Alaska would send no one to be sworn in on January 3, 2027, and the seat would sit vacant while the case proceeds.
Sources: USA Today; Davies Daily reporting.
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