After midterm rout, Trump doubles down on Alaska Senate seat scheme

By Ajani Stella

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U.S. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (R-AK) talks with members of the media after casting his ballot at a polling location at the Alaska Zoo on Election Day on November 03, 2026 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

As Republicans lick their wounds following a resounding midterm defeat, President Donald Trump is doubling down on his dangerous bid to block Democrats from winning one of the outstanding contests: Alaska’s U.S. Senate race.

In a social media post Thursday, the president called for Alaska to transfer to incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) all votes cast for a candidate with a similar name, Daniel J. Sullivan.

“The vote totals for the Fake Dan Sullivan, plus the other ‘slug’ that the Dems put on the Ballot, should be immediately given to the REAL Dan Sullivan, and the Election is over – He easily wins,” Trump wrote. “There is no other fair solution!”

Last week, a federal judge rejected the Trump administration’s lawsuit demanding the court block Alaska from certifying the results if Sen. Sullivan loses by a margin smaller than Daniel J. Sullivan’s vote share.* 

More than 25% of the vote in Alaska still has not been counted, according to the Associated Press. Currently, Democratic challenger Mary Peltola has a 0.3-point lead over Sen. Sullivan. 

So far, Daniel J. Sullivan has received just 1.7% of the vote, while Gerald Heikes (R) — the candidate Trump called a “slug” — has received 2.3%.

There is no guarantee that the final vote counts will resemble these. The New York Times election forecast, which halted at 3 a.m. Wednesday, projected that Peltola would win the race with a 2.9-point margin of victory. 

Because Alaska’s primaries use a Top 4 system, it’s not unusual to have two or more candidates of the same party on the general election ballot.

There is no precedent for giving votes cast for one candidate to another.

Previously, Republicans tried to get Daniel J. Sullivan removed from the ballot, but the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that it was unlawful for election officials to disqualify him.

Trump and Republicans have claimed fraud, pointing to a report that the Peltola campaign worked to recruit Daniel J. Sullivan. Peltola has denied involvement.

On Election Day, Attorney General Todd Blanche vowed to keep fighting “tooth and nail to stop this process.” 

Because Alaska uses ranked-choice voting and the race is so close, the final result may not be decided until Nov. 18.

*The Elias Law Group (ELG) represents the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in this case. ELG Firm Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.