Trump demands every Alaska vote against Peltola be awarded to Republican incumbent in latest assault on Senate race

President Donald Trump demanded that Alaska award all the ballots cast against Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola to the Republican incumbent in the president’s latest attempt to interfere with the vote counting.

Trump previously demanded that votes cast for a longshot candidate also named Dan Sullivan be awarded to incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. In a new attack on Alaska’s election, Trump also wants the votes cast for another candidate on the ballot, Gerald Heikes, to be awarded to Sen. Sullivan. Trump accused Heikes, who was listed as a registered Republican on Alaska’s ballot, of being a Democratic plant.

“All votes going to the Fake Dan Sullivan, which was done solely for the purpose of fraud and confusion, should immediately be given to the Real Dan Sullivan (Senator!) – Likewise the votes of the second fraudulent candidate, also put up by the Dems. There should be no question concerning this Rigged Election,” Trump said on social media Tuesday morning.

Trump’s comments come a day after he denied the legitimacy of last week’s election results, where Democrats made historic gains in Congress and down-ballot races across the country. Though Democrats have already secured a Senate majority for the next Congress, Alaska is one of two outstanding races that are too close to call. 

Though Peltola is projected to win the race, Trump’s comments and recent actions taken by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) suggest the administration may still try to block certification, or challenge Peltola’s seating in the Senate, should the incumbent Sullivan lose. 

Prior to Election Day, the Trump administration sued to overturn the results of the Alaska Senate race, should the incumbent Sen. Sullivan lose by a small margin. The U.S. Department of Justice argued that independent candidate Daniel S. Sullivan intentionally entered the race to confuse voters and help Peltola clinch a victory.  

A federal district court dismissed the DOJ’s lawsuit before Election Day. The department then appealed the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where litigation is ongoing. 

Last month, the New York Times reported that Democratic operatives tied to Peltola’s campaign recruited the independent Sullivan to split the ticket. Alaska uses a ranked-choice voting system that allows voters to rank their preferred candidates. The Times report also alleged that Heikes was similarly recruited to run. 

CNN reported Tuesday that Heikes was subpoenaed by the FBI days before Election Day to appear before a grand jury, ordering the candidate to supply any records he has related to political groups or other candidates in the Alaska Senate race. 

Despite the seismic Democratic victory last week, Trump is escalating his rhetoric, casting doubt on the midterm results. 

“Does anybody really believe that this ‘Election’ was honest,” Trump asked Monday morning. “How could the Polls be so wrong??? Some early voting ‘dumps’ were so large that it was impossible to win, no matter how many people went to vote.”

In the same social media post, Trump resurrected old conspiracy theories about voting machines, suggesting they were rigged to help Democrats win.

On Saturday, Trump reposted several conspiracy theories that used cherry-picked data to suggest the results must have been manipulated.