In Alaska’s messy Senate race, one candidate with a familiar name has ignited a fight that spills far beyond the ballot box. Democrats are accusing the Justice Department of trying to meddle in a state election, while Republicans say the whole setup looks like a voter confusion scheme dressed up as a coincidence.
Adam Schiff blasted the DOJ after it sued to block certification under a narrow set of circumstances tied to Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., the Petersburg candidate who shares a name with Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. Schiff argued the state already settled the matter and said Washington should stay out of Alaska’s business, calling the case an effort to interfere with the election process.
“They don’t have standing to bring this kind of a suit. It’s not the federal government’s business to run Alaskan elections. It’s Alaska’s business to do that,” Schiff told NBC News on Sunday. He followed that with a sharper shot, claiming the Justice Department was acting like a political arm of the Trump team rather than an independent agency.
The Alaska race has turned into a political headache because the ballot now features two Dan Sullivans, plus Democratic challenger Mary Peltola. Republicans say the namesake candidate was never an innocent bystander and was instead designed to peel votes away from the Republican incumbent, a charge that both the candidate and Peltola’s camp reject.
State election officials first flagged concerns that Daniel Sullivan’s candidacy looked suspicious, pointing to his requested ballot name, his recent party registration, and the similarities between campaign materials. But Alaska courts ultimately allowed him to stay on the ballot, which is why the Justice Department’s move came after the state-side fight had already played out.
That timing matters. The federal lawsuit is not trying to stop anyone from voting, but it does seek to delay certification if the vote split could change the outcome and if votes cast for Petersburg Sullivan appear to have affected the incumbent’s chances. In other words, the DOJ is aiming at the aftermath, not Election Day itself.
Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the filing on Sunday and said the department is relying on federal law, including the National Voter Registration Act. The DOJ also said it was not working with any campaign, stressing that its goal is to make sure ballots are handled in a way that lets Alaska officials determine whether voters were genuinely confused.
That explanation has done little to calm the political firestorm. Schiff, one of Trump’s fiercest longtime adversaries, framed the lawsuit as another chapter in a yearslong clash over elections, impeachment, and the aftermath of Jan. 6. He pointed back to 2020 and said Trump allies are now more willing than ever to push legal lines in pursuit of political gain.
“This time, with [Attorney General Todd] Blanche, they are all in on this disgraceful campaign,” Schiff said, adding that the case in Alaska has “no chance of succeeding.” It is the kind of quote that keeps the fight hot, because both sides are reading the same facts and seeing completely different threats.
The DOJ’s complaint leans hard on the idea that the Petersburg Sullivan candidacy was not a good-faith run, citing the possibility that the effort was meant to sap support from the Republican incumbent. The filing even compared the two campaigns’ imagery, arguing that the differences still fit into a pattern that could mislead voters who only see a name and a party line on the ballot.
Trump weighed in too, saying he “recommended” the DOJ file the suit and describing Petersburg Sullivan as someone put “up as a matter of confusion.” His reaction made the case even louder, because once Trump talks, every side starts treating the dispute like it is about more than one race in one state.
Alaska’s unusual election system keeps adding fuel. Peltola led the August primary, Dan S. Sullivan advanced, and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. also made it through, leaving voters with a ballot that practically invites mistakes, assumptions, and second-guessing. That is exactly why this race has become such a flashpoint, with every vote now carrying extra weight and every legal move under a harsh spotlight.
