Dan Sullivan vs Dan Sullivan: Why is Trump’s DOJ suing in Alaska?

The United States Department of Justice has filed a suit seeking to hold certification of Alaska’s Senate election effect if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan narrowly loses to Democrat Mary Peltola successful the November 3 midterms.

The reason? Another campaigner named Dan Sullivan is besides connected the ballot.

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• list 1 of 1Trump medication sues to artifact imaginable Democratic triumph successful Alaska

In a suit filed connected Thursday, the section argued that the 2nd Sullivan, a retired teacher who registered arsenic a Republican, is deliberately trying to confuse voters.

Alaska’s Supreme Court has already ruled that some candidates whitethorn stay connected the ballot.

So who are the 2 Dan Sullivans, and what could the suit mean for the election?

What is happening successful Alaska’s US Senate race?

Senator Sullivan is seeking a 3rd six-year word successful the contention against Peltola, a erstwhile congresswoman who became the archetypal Alaska Native elected to the US House of Representatives successful 2022.

Alaska has traditionally voted Republican successful statesmanlike elections. President Donald Trump won the authorities by astir 13 percent points successful 2024, but this year’s Senate contention appears much competitive.

In August’s primary, Peltola received 49.5 percent of the vote, compared with astir 41 percent for Senator Sullivan.

Two different candidates precocious to the November 3 election: Daniel J Sullivan Jr and Gerald Heikes.

Who are the 2 Dan Sullivans?

Dan S Sullivan was archetypal elected to the US Senate successful 2014 and was re-elected successful 2020. He antecedently served arsenic Alaska’s lawyer wide and commissioner of earthy resources.

Daniel J Sullivan Jr is simply a retired simple schoolteacher and a erstwhile US Forest Service worker from Petersburg successful southeastern Alaska.

His introduction into the contention this twelvemonth prompted accusations from Republicans that helium was trying to confuse voters, thing helium has denied.

Alaska predetermination officials initially disqualified him, but the state’s courts overturned the decision. In June, the Alaska Supreme Court allowed him to stay connected the ballot.

The ballot identifies the incumbent arsenic “Sullivan, Dan S (Registered Republican) Incumbent” and the different campaigner arsenic “Sullivan, Daniel J Jr” without a enactment designation, adjacent though helium has registered arsenic a Republican.

Glenn Wright, a governmental subject prof astatine the University of Alaska Southeast, told Al Jazeera that voters should person nary occupation recognising each candidate.

“The ballots are super, super, ace wide astir who the incumbent Dan Sullivan is,” helium said.

But Forrest Nabors, president of the governmental subject section astatine the University of Alaska Anchorage, said the akin names could inactive impact the result.

“It could plaything the predetermination if the predetermination is adjacent and the borderline of voters who mean to re-elect the legislator are confused and accidentally ballot for the different campaigner named Sullivan,” helium told Al Jazeera.

Why has the Justice Department filed a lawsuit?

The Justice Department sued Alaska successful national tribunal connected Thursday, arguing that having 2 candidates with akin names could mislead voters.

It wants the authorities to beryllium prevented from certifying the effect if the Republican legislator loses by less votes than his namesake receives, pending an probe into imaginable elector disorder and whether voters mistakenly supported the incorrect Sullivan.

The suit cited the National Voter Registration Act, a national instrumentality governing elector registration.

Nabors described the Justice Department’s involution arsenic “unusual” but said determination could beryllium circumstances successful which national enactment is justified.

“It’s possibly not unreasonable,” helium said, adding that national involution could beryllium justified erstwhile an predetermination is administered unfairly.

“Whether voters are confused and erroneously ballot oregon not is simply a question that is hard to measure,” helium added.

Wright questioned the ground of the suit astatine all, however.

“The ineligible filing is either, you know, a filing successful atrocious faith, oregon it’s a filing that misunderstands the mode that Alaska’s predetermination strategy operates,” helium said.

How does Alaska’s ranked-choice voting strategy work?

Unlike astir US states, Alaska allows voters to fertile candidates successful bid of penchant alternatively than voting for conscionable one.

The 4 candidates with the astir votes successful the superior beforehand to the wide election, careless of party.

If cipher wins much than 50 percent of the first-choice votes, the campaigner with the fewest votes is eliminated. Their votes are transferred to the next-ranked candidates inactive successful the race. This continues until 2 candidates remain, and the 1 with the astir votes wins.

Wright said the strategy helps forestall candidates with a smaller enactment basal from splitting the vote.

“It’s expected to destruct the spoiler effect,” helium explained.

For example, if a elector mistakenly chooses Daniel J Sullivan Jr but ranks the incumbent second, their ballot could yet transportation to the senator.

“The strategy is really designed to header with this benignant of a thing,” Wright said.

However, voters are not required to fertile each candidate, meaning immoderate votes whitethorn not transfer.

Can the national authorities artifact certification of the results?

The Justice Department whitethorn inquire a national tribunal to intervene, but it whitethorn not independently halt Alaska from certifying the results.

The suit seeks to hold certification if the Republican incumbent loses and votes formed for the different Dan Sullivan could person changed the outcome.

Derek Muller, an predetermination instrumentality prof astatine the University of Notre Dame, questioned however officials would find which campaigner a elector intended to support.

“The champion grounds that voters preferred 1 Sullivan implicit different is however they marked their ballots,” helium wrote on the Election Law blog.

Muller besides questioned the ineligible ground of the lawsuit.

The Justice Department cited the “findings and purposes” conception of the National Voter Registration Act, which lists protecting “the integrity of the electoral process” among the law’s purposes.

But Muller argued that the section was treating that connection arsenic a ineligible obligation, adjacent though the instrumentality says thing astir which candidates whitethorn look connected a ballot.

He described the statement arsenic “so absurdly thin” that determination was “essentially nary likelihood of success”.

He besides questioned wherefore the section had waited until days earlier the predetermination to intervene erstwhile the quality implicit the 2 candidates had been known for months.

Nabors said the lawsuit could inactive impact voters adjacent if the courts bash not determine it earlier predetermination day.

“Whether the suit is adjudicated successful time, it volition astatine slightest thrust consciousness of the occupation among voters, which mightiness bounds the numbers of those who ballot erroneously for the different Sullivan,” helium told Al Jazeera.

No national tribunal has ordered Alaska to suspend certification.

Democratic US Senate campaigner Mary Peltola, centre, appears with supporters during a run lawsuit successful Anchorage, Alaska, connected October 21, 2026 [Haven Daley/AP]

What does this mean for the midterm elections?

Alaska’s Senate contention could play a portion successful deciding which enactment controls the precocious enclosure of the US Congress.

Republicans present clasp 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats portion Democrats and 2 independents who caucus with them clasp 47. Democrats request a nett summation of 4 seats to scope 51 and unafraid a majority.

A 50-50 divided would let Vice President JD Vance to formed tie-breaking votes successful the chamber.

“The decision of Senator Sullivan would besides instrumentality distant an important legislator from the Republican caucus. He has been influential successful overseas argumentation and vigor policy,” Nabors said.

Wright said the competitory contention successful specified a traditionally Republican authorities reflects wider dissatisfaction with the Trump administration.

“The information that the Alaska contention has travel to beryllium competitory is simply a existent indicator of however hard the roadworthy is for a batch of Republican candidates successful the current, benignant of nationalist sentiment environment,” Wright said.

The suit has besides raised questions astir whether the Trump medication could situation certification successful different states successful which Republicans lose.

The Justice Department is already facing disapproval implicit investigations and prosecutions involving Democratic opponents of Trump.

Federal agents person precocious searched the location of Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar arsenic portion of an migration fraud investigation. Omar has described the enactment arsenic politically motivated.

Trump has acknowledged directing the Justice Department to record the Alaska suit portion his medication maintains that the enactment is intended to forestall elector confusion.