Dan Sullivan accepts Alaska race outcome after judge blocks DOJ decertification suit

Senator Dan Sullivan said he will accept the result of the Alaska Senate race on Sunday.

The announcement came two days before the November 3 midterm election. It followed a ruling by US District Court Judge Sharon Gleason, who dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice. The suit sought to prevent Alaska from certifying the election results if the Republican incumbent loses.

Gleason described the legal challenge as infeasible. She noted that many voters had already cast their ballots. Those ballots had been commingled to the point where individual voter identities could no longer be determined. She wrote that the government offered no workable plan to segregate ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan on Election Day. The government also failed to specify how an investigation would preserve voter secrecy.

The Justice Department said on Sunday that it plans to appeal the ruling. The lawsuit followed a report by The New York Times published on Wednesday. That report alleged that members of Democratic challenger Mary Peltola’s campaign helped recruit a retired teacher named Dan J Sullivan Jr to run as a spoiler candidate. The strategy aimed to draw votes away from Senator Sullivan.

Sullivan, a Trump ally, accused Peltola of cheating. He told CNN that his opponent and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer showed disdain for Alaskans. He claimed they had to cheat because they could not run on their record. Peltola maintained that her campaign had no part in recruiting the other Sullivan. She called the issue a distraction from high prices caused by the US-Israel war on Iran.

Peltola told KTUU on Friday that she did not know if anyone on her staff was involved. She said she honestly had no idea. Sullivan disputed her account. He stated on the State of the Union program that there was no way the matter went on for a year without Peltola knowing. He accused her of lying to the Alaskan people and the media.

The race is one of seven key toss-ups that will determine control of the US Senate. The second Sullivan is listed on the ballot as Daniel J Sullivan Jr. The senator is listed as Dan S Sullivan and marked as the Republican incumbent. Sullivan campaigned on Saturday night at a trunk-or-treat event north of Anchorage. He handed out candy and joked that his costume was the real Dan Sullivan.