Trump Says He Directed DOJ Lawsuit Over Alaska Senate Election
publishers 26articles 29first reported 22 Oct, 14:56 UTCdeveloping since 23 Oct · 9 editions
President Donald Trump said he directed the Justice Department to file a lawsuit seeking to prevent Alaska from certifying its U.S. Senate election results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses.
“I’m the one that said ‘do it,’” Trump told reporters Friday. The lawsuit, filed Thursday, argues that another candidate with a similar name, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., could confuse voters and affect the result of the November 3 election. Trump accused Democrats of putting the second Sullivan into the race, while Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has denied entering to mislead voters.
Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the legal action Sunday, telling CNN that Trump was not trying to overturn election results “in any way, shape or form.” Blanche said the administration considered the lawsuit necessary to address possible voter confusion and hoped for a resolution.
Alaska election officials previously disqualified Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., but state courts overturned that decision, and the Alaska Supreme Court allowed him to remain on the ballot. The ballot identifies Sen. Sullivan as a registered Republican and incumbent; Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. appears without a party designation.
The race also includes Democrat Mary Peltola and Gerald Heikes. Alaska uses ranked-choice voting in the general election, allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference. The federal case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 3 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 58 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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- 8, 3 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 58 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
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WHAT THE EDITOR DID
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