A federal judge in Alaska allowed Democrats to intervene in the Justice Department’s lawsuit over the state’s Senate race, setting up a decision as early as this week about whether it should be dismissed.
In an eight-page order, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason said that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee can pursue their effort to have the case thrown out before the election.
“It is not readily apparent that the State will adequately represent” the interests of the campaigns and voting rights groups that requested to intervene in the lawsuit, Gleason wrote.
The DOJ had originally opposed the Democrats’ motion to intervene in its lawsuit against the state of Alaska over the race where Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan shares a ballot with candidate Daniel J. Sullivan.
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But the Trump administration reversed its position Wednesday after The New York Times reported that the Peltola campaign and the DSCC may have been behind finding Daniel J. Sullivan, a lifelong Democrat, and recruiting him to run.
“The United States intends to seek expedited discovery from the Campaign regarding the reported conspiracy, including as to whether the Campaign attempted to deceive the Court by seeking an expedited ruling on a motion to dismiss when the Campaign may have been aware of the New York Times reporting before it was published,” the DOJ said in a court filing.
In its lawsuit, the Trump administration argued that the risk of voter confusion was too high, and that voters would confuse the incumbent senator Sullivan with the first-time candidate, who will have no party affiliation on the ballot.
The department asked the district court to pause certifying the results “pending an investigation to determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan.”
“The sole purpose of his candidacy is to benefit the Peltola campaign by reducing the number of votes for Senator Sullivan,” the DOJ said in its lawsuit.
Polling from the Times puts Peltola ahead, while the Cook Political Report has the race as a toss up.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who in days prior was showing support for the Peltola campaign in the lawsuit, changed her tune on Wednesday.
“Alaskans deserve the honest truth from Mary and her campaign—what has been revealed is a pattern of lies and coverups and a culture of deception that belongs nowhere in our elections or among our elected officials,” Murkowski said in a statement.
In a court filing Wednesday, the campaign and DSCC did not address the Times story. Instead, the defendants continued to argue that the case “is about whether DOJ can enjoin Alaska’s lawful certification of the U.S. Senate election if the President’s preferred candidate loses.”
President Donald Trump has made his distaste of the matter clear since the lawsuit.
“The Democrats’ false statements were made under oath in Federal Court. Therefore, they perjured themselves, and should be liable for very serious consequences,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. “Mary Peltola should suffer the Legal and Political consequences for what she has done, A FRAUD ON THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, and Dan Sullivan should be allowed to run without either Mary Peltola or FAKE Dan Sullivan on the Ballot.”
Blanche defended the lawsuit on CNN’s Sunday show. When asked what crime the state committed in allowing both Sullivans on the ballot, Blanche responded, “There could be a crime.”
Following the Times report, Blanche doubled down.
“Let’s call it what it is: They are cheating. They are trying to take votes away from the incumbent, not by running an election and not by running on issues, but by putting up a person with the same name so they confuse Alaskans,” he said on Fox News.
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