DOJ Says Democrats Misled Court Over Alaska's Second Dan Sullivan

DOJ Says Democrats Misled Court Over Alaska's Second Dan Sullivan

Revised complaint folds Times reporting into lawsuit

The Justice Department revised its federal lawsuit over Alaska's Senate race on Oct. 29, accusing Democratic candidate Mary Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee of misleading a federal court about their role in recruiting a same-named challenger to Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. The amended complaint incorporates an Oct. 28 New York Times investigation, based on 12 sources plus text messages and documents, reporting that Peltola aides, campaign lawyers and DSCC staffers spent months recruiting retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan of Petersburg to siphon votes from the senator. In a wry aside, the DOJ wrote that although what the Times reports "is not always true," its reporting here matches the government's own allegations.

A challenger once struck from the ballot, then restored

The retired teacher, formerly registered with the Alaska Independence Party, switched to the Republican Party shortly before filing and ran as "Dan" rather than Daniel. The state Division of Elections removed him from the ballot in June, finding his candidacy was not in "good faith" and was designed to mislead voters. A state trial court reversed that decision, and the Alaska Supreme Court affirmed it. On the sample ballot, the incumbent appears as "Sullivan, Dan S. (Registered Republican) Incumbent," while the challenger carries no party label. In the August open primary, the senator took about 41 percent, Peltola 49.5 percent and the other Sullivan 2.5 percent, with four candidates advancing to the ranked-choice general election.

Original suit seeks to freeze certification on a narrow loss

The Justice Department's original Oct. 22 suit, signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr., asks a federal judge to bar certification if the incumbent loses by a margin smaller than the same-named challenger's vote total, arguing voters seeking the senator would "likely" vote for the wrong Sullivan by mistake. President Donald Trump has said he ordered the lawsuit and wrote on Truth Social that the Democrats' statements under oath amounted to perjury and fraud, demanding Peltola face "legal and political consequences" and that both Peltola and the "fake" Dan Sullivan be kept off the ballot.

Denials all around as a key source seeks retraction

Peltola's campaign says it has "no involvement with either Sullivan campaign," and the DSCC denies involvement as well. Peltola has called the story a distraction. Elisa Rios, the former campaign manager who told the Times that Peltola was "definitely aware" of the recruitment effort though not directly involved, later asked the newspaper to retract her statements without giving a reason; she had been fired in August. Democrats counter that Republicans have their own history of ballot maneuvering, including recruiting a prisoner with a New York address to run against Peltola and spending nearly half a million dollars to get an Arizona resident on the Alaska ballot.

Intervention granted, governor orders a separate probe

A federal judge has allowed Peltola's campaign and the DSCC to intervene in the case. They and the state of Alaska are seeking a swift dismissal, arguing the National Voter Registration Act on which the DOJ relies governs only voter registration, not ballot design, and calling the claims "utterly without legal basis" — a lawsuit hanging "like the Sword of Damocles" over an ongoing election. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who had earlier shown sympathy for the Peltola side, reversed course and spoke of "a pattern of lies and coverups." Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into the recruitment effort on Oct. 29. With the general election next Tuesday and ranked-choice tabulation expected to take weeks, the DOJ is also seeking expedited discovery, so the courtroom fight and the vote count will run in parallel.