DOJ Seeks Certification Block in Close Alaska Senate Race

The Justice Department is seeking to block certification of Alaska’s U.S. Senate election result under a specific scenario, arguing that a close victory by Democrat Mary Peltola could be affected by the candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., who shares a name with Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. The lawsuit does not establish that the challenger was recruited as a spoiler or that the result would be tainted; those remain claims at issue in the case. The department’s filing asks a federal court to prevent certification if Sen. Sullivan loses to Peltola by fewer votes than Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. receives. It also opposes requests by Peltola’s campaign and the League of Women Voters of Alaska to intervene, saying they would bring duplicative motions. If permitted to join, the campaign and the group would seek dismissal of the lawsuit, according to the filing. Separately, reporting based on interviews, text messages and documents prepared for a potential lawsuit described efforts by people associated with Peltola’s campaign to find and recruit candidates named Dan Sullivan. The account said a campaign staffer was asked in the summer of 2025 to search voter records for people with that...