Photo: Paxson Woelber / The Alaska Landmine, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY). File photo of the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, not a photo of the court filing.
Alaska's Republican-led state government asked a federal judge on Saturday to permanently dismiss the Trump administration's lawsuit seeking to block certification of the state's pivotal Senate race, calling the case "meritless" and the relief it seeks "not even possible."
The filing, from the state attorney general's office, landed just three days before Tuesday's midterm elections, as US District Judge Sharon L. Gleason weighs whether to dismiss the case without even holding a hearing. The state asked the judge to "immediately dismiss this lawsuit with prejudice and allow state officials to conduct the general election — including ballot counting and certification — free from unwarranted federal interference."
The two Dan Sullivans
At the centre of the case are two men with almost the same name on Alaska's Senate ballot. The incumbent is Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan. The other is Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher from the fishing village of Petersburg, who is also running for the seat.
The Justice Department sued Alaska election officials on October 22, arguing that the results should not be certified unless Senator Sullivan is declared the winner. The administration alleges that Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign helped recruit the second Sullivan to run, creating confusion that could divert votes intended for the incumbent. That allegation rests on New York Times reporting that internal texts and posts appear to show the Peltola campaign played a role in recruiting him and that Peltola herself was aware of it. Peltola denies any role in the second Sullivan's candidacy.
On Friday, the department added a new request: that the judge separate all ballots showing votes for the second Sullivan so investigators can examine whether voters were fooled into wasting their votes on a spoiler candidate. Alaska's filing called that idea "both disturbing and impossible," arguing there would be no way to carry it out without violating voters' right to ballot secrecy.
"State officials carefully designed the ballot to minimize voter confusion," the state wrote. On the ballot, the senator is listed as a Republican and the incumbent, while the other candidate appears simply as "Daniel J. Sullivan." The Alaska Supreme Court ruled this summer that the second candidate met all legal requirements to stay on the ballot, and the state's filing said the newly reported details about how he got there do not change his legal status. "Not every wrong can be righted in federal court," the state wrote.
A Republican state against a Republican administration
The filing is striking because the defendants are themselves Republican-led. The motion was filed by the Department of Law's Civil Division Director Rachel Witty on behalf of the Division of Elections director and the state's election and ballot-counting review boards. Alaska's Republican governor, Mike Dunleavy, has condemned the second Sullivan's placement on the ballot and announced a state probe into the situation — but the state's lawyers argued the federal lawsuit is still the wrong remedy.
Peltola's campaign, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and voting-rights groups have also asked Judge Gleason to dismiss the case. President Donald Trump has said he personally ordered the Justice Department lawsuit, and has called for Peltola to be prosecuted following the Times report. The department has also issued subpoenas and opened a criminal investigation into the race, according to NBC News reporting.
What happens next
Judge Gleason set a Saturday deadline for the parties to argue whether the case should be dismissed, leaving open a ruling before Election Day on Tuesday, November 3. The Alaska race is one of a handful that could help decide which party controls the Senate, where Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority.
What matters most for voters is the distinction between a filing and a ruling. So far, no judge has decided the case: Alaska has asked for dismissal, the administration is opposing it, and the decision now sits with the court. If the case is dismissed, Alaska's counting and certification will proceed under state control. If it survives, the fight over the ballots — and over who certifies the result — could run well past Tuesday night.
Sources: NBC News, November 1, 2026; PBS News; Al Jazeera US midterms liveblog, November 1, 2026. The recruitment allegation rests on New York Times reporting as cited by the Justice Department and is denied by Peltola; no court ruling on the lawsuit has been issued yet.