The Department of Justice offered no new details Wednesday on its Alaska election investigations as Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (R-AK) and Democrat Mary Peltola remained locked in a Senate race too close to call.
As of Wednesday evening, Peltola led Sullivan 102,701 to 102,075 in first-choice votes, a 626-vote advantage, with an estimated 74% of votes counted. The Associated Press has not called the race.
Asked about next steps, a department spokesperson declined to comment on specific plans to the Washington Examiner but pointed to public civil filings and Attorney General Todd Blanche’s Tuesday Fox News interview, in which he defended preserving ballots to examine possible voter confusion over a spoiler candidate with the same first and last name as the Republican incumbent, who has garnered more than 3,500 votes.
Blanche on Tuesday described a scenario in which Sullivan “could lose, but really he didn’t lose,” if confusion between the incumbent and spoiler candidate Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. affected the outcome. “That’s why you need to preserve these ballots,” he said.
Sullivan’s campaign argues that Peltola’s narrow lead could disappear once voters’ backup choices are counted.
Under Alaska’s ranked-choice system, if no candidate wins more than 50% of first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is eliminated. Ballots for that candidate transfer to each voter’s next choice still in the race. The process repeats until someone has a majority of the remaining active ballots.
The campaign’s memo says enough voters who initially backed the two trailing candidates ranked Sullivan as a backup choice to put him ahead of Peltola. Using available ballot data, it projected Sullivan would win 105,037 to 104,709 — a 328-vote margin.
Democrats and their independent allies have secured 54 Senate seats to Republicans’ 44, a net Democratic gain of seven seats from the current 53-47 Republican majority. Alaska and Mississippi remain uncalled, leaving Democrats positioned to expand their majority further.
The DOJ’s original complaint filed on Oct. 22 sought to block certification if the incumbent lost but would have won had the other Sullivan’s votes instead gone to him through ranked-choice counting.
It requested an investigation into “whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan,” alongside further court-directed relief. In essence, the department said a pattern of voters’ rankings may reveal signs of confusion, suggesting some incumbent Sullivan supporters might mistakenly back the other Sullivan without ranking the incumbent, allowing their votes to transfer to Peltola.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the lawsuit Sunday, finding no workable remedy that preserved ballot secrecy. The DOJ appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
The 9th Circuit’s current docket schedule gives the DOJ until Dec. 14 to file its opening brief, with a response due Jan. 11, 2027 — a timetable extending beyond the election’s certification process.
That civil case is separate from the criminal investigation into whether the alleged recruitment scheme violated federal law. The criminal inquiry has reportedly generated more than 120 subpoenas, along with target and document preservation letters, while the civil lawsuit sought to delay certification if voter confusion could have cost Sullivan the election.
If the incumbent Sullivan were victorious, it would not automatically moot or bring an end to the criminal investigation. While the civil lawsuit sought to block certification of a potentially decisive loss, the criminal inquiry concerns whether the alleged recruitment scheme broke federal law.
The investigation follows an Oct. 28 New York Times report that Democratic operatives linked to Peltola’s campaign helped recruit Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher, to run against the Republican incumbent. The alleged effort sought to capitalize on their similar names to draw votes away from the senator. Peltola’s campaign has denied involvement in the other Sullivan campaign.
DOJ TARGETS MARC ELIAS IN ALASKA SULLIVAN INVESTIGATION
The DOJ subsequently sent more than 20 target and document preservation letters concerning the alleged recruitment effort, the Washington Examiner reported Tuesday following an earlier New York Times report on the matter.
Recipients included Democratic elections lawyer Marc Elias, whose firm has represented Peltola’s campaign, although whether he is a target remains unclear. Not all letter recipients are investigation targets. Blanche declined Tuesday to publicly confirm the letters were sent, citing the ongoing investigation.