Trump said he ordered DOJ to sue Alaska over Senate race ballot

President Trump told reporters in Florida that he personally ordered the Department of Justice to sue Alaska to preemptively challenge the results of the state's U.S. Senate race if Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan loses. The suit asks Alaska's Division of Elections to set aside results if anyone other than Sen. Dan Sullivan wins, claiming voters may be confused by another Republican candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot. Attorney General Todd Blanche had said on the same day the suit was filed that DOJ suing states to block certification would only happen under a doomsday scenario.¹

The Trump administration's suit is its first direct challenge to election certification in the 2026 midterms.¹