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- A federal judge on Sunday dismissed the Department of Justice lawsuit that had sought to delay certification of the Alaska Senate election because of potential voter confusion from having two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the ballot, one of whom is the Republican incumbent.
- Judge Sharon Gleason, in her decision, said the federal government had failed to establish that it had legal standing to file the civil complaint in U.S. District Court in Anchorage.
- The ruling is a victory for the campaign of Democratic nominee Mary Peltola, who, along with state election officials and others, had asked Gleason to dismiss the DOJ’s lawsuit.
- President Donald Trump has said he ordered the lawsuit.
Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola participate in a debate in Anchorage, Alaska, Oct. 15, 2026.Kerry Tasker | Reuters
A federal judge on Sunday dismissed the Department of Justice lawsuit that sought to delay certification of the Alaska Senate election because of potential voter confusion from having two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the ballot, one of whom is the Republican incumbent.
The ruling came two days before Election Day, and two days after the U.S. Attorney for Alaska said there were ongoing criminal and civil investigations into the non-incumbent Dan J. Sullivan’s decision to run for the Senate.
The ruling is a victory for the campaign of Democratic nominee Mary Peltola, who, along with state election officials and others, had asked Judge Sharon Gleason to dismiss the DOJ’s lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Anchorage.
Peltola’s campaign has been accused of soliciting a retired school teacher named Dan Sullivan to run for the Senate against the incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Peltola. Her campaign has denied those claims.
Gleason said the federal government had failed to establish that it had legal standing to file a civil complaint to postpone certification of the election if Sen. Sullivan lost.
The DOJ, in that event, had wanted an investigation to be conducted into voter intent and possible confusion from having two Dan Sullivans on the ballot.
“The absence of any explanation from the United States as to how its requested relief could redress its alleged injury while simultaneously maintaining the secrecy of the ballot is telling,” Gleason said in her 20-page decision.
The judge also noted that DOJ claimed it was not seeking to alter the “time, place or manner of Alaska’s election.”
But at the same time, Gleason said, the DOJ was asking her for an order “preventing the State
from certifying the election if certain circumstances occur; a court order requiring the State to segregate and preserve certain ballots; and a court order permitting the United States to conduct an investigation into the intent of those voters who cast ballots for Daniel J. Sullivan.”
“These requests certainly involve the time, place, and manner of Alaska’s election, which are the responsibilities of the State, not the executive branch of the federal government,” Gleason said.
President Donald Trump has said he ordered the lawsuit, which was filed more than a week ago.
Trump argued that Peltola and other Democrats had recruited the former school teacher to run in hopes of confusing voters who wanted to cast their ballots for Sen. Sullivan.
The New York Times on Wednesday reported that Peltola campaign aides and DSCC aides had been involved in efforts to recruit the retiree for the race.
Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have denied having any involvement in his campaign.
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