President Trump listens as Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, running for re-election, speaks at a campaign rally October 13 in Wasilla, Alaska.
Alex Brandon/AP
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Alex Brandon/AP
A federal judge has rejected the Trump administration’s highly unusual attempt to block certification of the results of a key U.S. Senate race in Alaska if the incumbent Republican loses.
In a ruling released Sunday, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that the federal government lacked the standing to bring the lawsuit.
Justice Department lawyers — who had cited the preamble to the National Voter Registration Act in their case — are expected to appeal the decision by Gleason, a nominee of former President Barack Obama.
President Trump said he ordered this lawsuit to be filed because of the four Senate candidates on Alaska’s ballot, two have similar names: Sen. Dan Sullivan, the Republican incumbent, and Daniel Sullivan Jr., who is not affiliated with any political party.
The Alaska Republican Party supported an earlier effort in state court that tried to keep Sullivan Jr., the non-incumbent, off the ballot. But in June, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Sullivan Jr. had the right to run as a candidate.
Yet Republican allegations that Democrats are backing Sullivan Jr. to spoil incumbent Sullivan’s re-election chances have long loomed over this closely watched Senate race.
A New York Times A report on Democratic campaign operatives’ efforts to recruit Sullivan Jr. — which NPR has not independently confirmed — brought new attention to the allegations. Alaska’s Republican governor, Mike Dunleavy, ordered an investigation and indicated that the race results may not be certified by the state depending on the outcome of that investigation.
“If we find out there is wrongdoing and if that means the certification is then stopped or changed, then that’s what happens,” Dunleavy said Friday in an interview with NewsNation.
At a news conference in Anchorage on Friday, U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman said a criminal investigation was “ongoing” by the Justice Department.
The Democratic candidate, former Rep. Mary Peltola, has denied any involvement.
Edited by Benjamin Swasey
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