Sullivan's spokesperson says senator will 'let the DOJ complain run its course'

Alaska’s Republican primary gave Sen. Sullivan 68,726 votes, namesake 4,107

Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, said the senator would “let the DOJ complain run its course,” responding to the Justice Department’s preemptive lawsuit over Alaska’s Senate race. “Alaskans can tell the difference between a Democrat sideshow and Senator Sullivan’s strong record of delivering for Alaska, a record he’ll keep building on for the next six years,” Adams said.

Alaska’s Republican primary was held in August. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan received 68,726 votes while Daniel J. Sullivan received 4,107.

The Justice Department filed the suit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, preemptively calling on the courts to block the certification of Alaska’s upcoming Senate race if the Democratic candidate wins. The department said certification of the race’s results should be delayed if the combination of votes for the two men named Dan Sullivan would surpass Peltola’s number of votes.

The complaint said the candidacy of a third candidate in the race, Dan J. Sullivan Jr., was meant to mislead voters into voting for the wrong Republican candidate, splitting the vote and giving Peltola an advantage. Dan J. Sullivan Jr. is also a Republican but is listed on ballots without a party affiliation.

The Washington Post reported that Democrat Mary Peltola and incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan are locked in a tight battle for the seat, which could have implications for party control in the upper chamber of Congress. If Democrats gain four seats in the November mid-term elections, the party would take control of the Senate, weakening the Republican Party’s position in Congress.

President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he was behind the lawsuit, according to CNN. “Well, I’m the one that said ‘do it,’” he said.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said before the lawsuit was filed that the Justice Department would not interfere in the race in Alaska. “It is not DOJ’s intention to — and it’s never our intention to — improperly interfere with elections or the state certification process,” he said Thursday. “But, you know, to say there’s no circumstances that we would ever do that — of course, I’m not going to say.”

Trump’s statement Friday came after Blanche’s Thursday assurance, and the two described different positions on whether the Justice Department would act in Alaska’s race. Under the complaint’s own terms, the delay would follow only if the combined votes of the two men named Dan Sullivan surpass Peltola’s total, a condition that can be tested only once the votes are counted.