Trump's DOJ Escalates Bid to Block Alaska Senate Results Days Before Midterms

Trump's Justice Department has escalated the lawsuit it filed Oct. 22 at the president's direction seeking to block certification of Alaska's U.S. Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola. DOJ alleges Peltola's campaign helped recruit a second, identically named "Dan Sullivan" candidate to confuse voters and siphon Republican votes. By Oct. 29, DOJ had issued subpoenas and widened its case, Alaska's governor opened a separate state investigation into the recruitment claim, and a federal judge fast-tracked the litigation ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

Alaska election officials, including Republicans, have objected to the federal intervention. Legal observers note DOJ's bid to preemptively void a Senate race's certification before any vote is certified is without clear precedent, raising separation-of-powers concerns about the executive branch inserting itself into a state's election administration days before voters go to the polls.

Peltola's campaign has asked the judge to dismiss the suit outright. As of Oct. 30 the case remains pending, with no ruling on the merits.