Blanche Defends Doj’s Preemptive Challenge to Alaska Senate Results

WHO:

CBS News - Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold alleged Tina Peters enabled an unauthorized person to access secure voting equipment and copy proprietary software.

CBS News - Mesa County District Court Judge Matthew Barrett sentenced Peters after a jury convicted her of three misdemeanors and four felonies.

The Guardian - A bipartisan Senate report said seven deaths were related to the January 6 Capitol attack.

NPR - Daniel J. Sullivan said his decision to run was his own and denied that he intended to confuse voters or siphon votes from Sen. Dan Sullivan.

NPR - The lawsuit was signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, who had represented several people accused of participating in the Jan. 6 attack before joining the Justice Department.

ABC News - Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Trump administration’s lawsuit; Blanche had previously represented Trump as a personal attorney before Trump appointed him to lead the Justice Department.

ABC News - Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is the incumbent in Alaska’s Senate race. A second candidate named Dan Sullivan is a retired teacher and school administrator from Petersburg; his ballot name is Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.

ABC News - Democrat Mary Peltola is a former congresswoman and a candidate in the race. Alaska’s other Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, criticized the lawsuit on social media.

The Guardian - CNN’s Dana Bash questioned Blanche about whether Trump was laying groundwork to challenge election results; Blanche called the question “crazy.”

The Guardian - Election experts Derek Mueller, a University of Notre Dame law professor; David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research; and Richard H. Pildes, a New York University law professor specializing in elections, criticized the suit’s legal basis.

WHAT:

Fox News - Blanche argued that the Elections Clause’s second clause authorizes Congress to regulate congressional elections and said the Justice Department’s lawsuit relies on that clause and the National Voter Registration Act.

Fox News - Blanche challenged CNN’s presentation of the Constitution, saying, “Conveniently, you put up the Constitution on your screen, but you highlighted only the first clause.”

Fox News - Media Research Center President David Bozell criticized CNN’s presentation, saying, “Bash's job is to give the audience the full text up front.”

NPR - The Justice Department has not explained how it could determine whether votes for Daniel J. Sullivan were intended for the senator given the secret ballot.

CNN - Ninth Circuit Judge Patrick Bumatay appeared more receptive to DOJ’s arguments and questioned California and Los Angeles County attorneys about how noncitizen voting is investigated.

ABC News - The Justice Department asked California counties to identify who on its list was a citizen within 48 hours and warned of “significant federal scrutiny and legal exposure.”

ABC News - DOJ announced charges against about 28 people from the California list for alleged voting and immigration-related crimes.

Fox News - Todd Blanche argued that the Constitution’s Elections Clause allows Congress to regulate congressional elections and said the Justice Department relied on that authority and the National Voter Registration Act in its Alaska lawsuit.

Fox News - The lawsuit alleged Daniel J. Sullivan ran as a Republican with the intention of misleading supporters of Sen. Dan Sullivan; the complaint states, “Daniel J. Sullivan decided to run for Senator in 2026 as a Republican with the intention of misleading supporters of Senator Sullivan into voting for him.”

Fox News - The ACLU argued that the National Voter Registration Act sets voter-registration procedures and does not authorize blocking election certification over candidate placement; the ACLU and Mary Peltola’s campaign filed motions to intervene.

CNN - Ninth Circuit judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez questioned the reliability of the administration’s list of about 20,000 alleged noncitizens and the basis for the Justice Department’s emergency appeal before a district court hearing.

CNN - California attorney Samuel Siegal argued the federal request would “short-circuit the democratic process”; DOJ attorney Matthew Donnelly said the list was “purchased” and argued ballots should be set aside, not discarded.

CNN - California had processed more than 300,000 midterm ballots when the appeals court hearing took place.

CBS News - Colorado Gov. Jared Polis commuted Tina Peters’ nearly nine-year state sentence after she had served less than two years; President Trump’s federal pardon had no legal effect because her conviction was under state law.

CBS News - The Trump administration canceled $109 million in Colorado transportation funding and threatened to withhold food aid; it later unfroze $47 million for water projects and approved federal wildfire aid.

NPR - Blanche described possible federal involvement in Alaska’s vote-certification process as a “doomsday” scenario.

NPR - The Justice Department’s lawsuit asked Alaska not to “certify any election results that may be impacted by voter confusion”; Blanche said the requested relief was not to certify if the law was broken.

NPR - The Justice Department’s suit cited the National Voter Registration Act and asked to block certification until the government investigated whether votes for Daniel J. Sullivan were intended for the senator.

NPR - Alaska’s state court and Supreme Court kept Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot after Republican election officials sought to remove him, alleging he intended to mislead voters.

NPR - In Alaska’s August primary, Sen. Dan Sullivan received more than 68,000 votes, while Daniel J. Sullivan received 4,107.

The Guardian - Blanche said that if confusion affected the election outcome, the state should not certify the result, arguing that this approach was consistent with federal and Alaska law.

The Guardian - Blanche told Dana Bash, “We’re not laying any groundwork for the president to do that,” and said the administration wanted to determine whether voter confusion violated the law in deciding who should be senator.

The Guardian - Blanche told Margaret Brennan that her description of the lawsuit was “at best misleading, but really a lie to your viewers.”

The Guardian - David Becker said Alaska’s courts had “fully litigated” the ballot issue and that the lawsuit raised “serious concerns about political interference.”

Alternet - New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie called Blanche’s explanation “total gobbledygook” and argued that no federal law authorizes courts to decide who wins an election.

Alternet - Matthew Scheffield said ranked-choice voting allows voters to rank the other Dan Sullivan second, and said Trump had won in Alaska three times under that system.

ABC News - The Justice Department sued to block certification of Alaska’s Senate results if incumbent Dan Sullivan loses. Blanche said the suit was intended to preserve possible evidence of voter confusion and “put guardrails in place,” not to prevent certification in every circumstance.

ABC News - Blanche said the administration was not trying to overturn state election results “in any way, shape or form,” and said, “We wish that we didn’t have to do this. We hope for a resolution that works.”

ABC News - Trump said he was “the one that said do it.” He argued that the ballot was unfair and said the senator should be identified as “Sen. Dan Sullivan” rather than “incumbent,” which some voters may not understand.

The Guardian - Blanche told Bash, “We’re not laying any groundwork for the president to do that,” and said the suit was meant to address possible confusion under Alaska law.

The Guardian - Mueller said the legal claim was “so absurdly thin” it had “essentially no likelihood of success.” Becker called the suit “an unprecedented intervention by the federal government.” Pildes called it “one of the weakest election lawsuits I’ve ever seen” and said it should have “no realistic chance of success in the courts.”

CBS News Politics - The Justice Department said it was “doing our own research” with its Alaska challenge.

WHERE:

CNN - The Justice Department’s lawsuit against California sought to prevent counting more than 20,000 mail ballots associated with people the government believes may be noncitizens; California had already processed more than 300,000 midterm ballots.

ABC News - Los Angeles officials said nearly 40% of a preliminary sample of 200 names on the alleged noncitizen-voter list indicated U.S. birth, while 71.2% had no voting history.

ABC News - The lawsuit concerns Alaska’s U.S. Senate race and was discussed in interviews on CNN’s “State of the Union” and CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

ABC News - The second Dan Sullivan is from Petersburg, a small fishing community in Alaska.

WHEN:

Fox News - The Alaska Supreme Court issued its ruling allowing Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. to appear on the ballot in June.

ABC News - The election was described as a closely watched midterm race; Trump said the lawsuit was filed on Thursday, and Peltola criticized it the following day.

WHY:

CBS News - Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said President Trump was punishing Colorado over Peters’ conviction and sentence; the White House denied politicizing disaster-relief decisions.

NPR - Blanche argued that Alaska’s courts had not considered federal law when they allowed Daniel J. Sullivan to remain on the ballot; he said states have an obligation to avoid voter confusion.

ABC News - Republicans fear the second candidate named Dan Sullivan could split votes and help Peltola win.

The Guardian - The Justice Department alleged that two candidates named Dan Sullivan could cause voter confusion.

HOW:

CNN - DOJ attorney Matthew Donnelly said the administration’s list of California voters was “purchased”; California’s attorney said its source was unclear and the data was “wildly outdated.”

NPR - Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system allows voters to rank both candidates.

ABC News - Ballots identify Sen. Dan Sullivan as “Dan S. Sullivan,” “registered Republican” and “incumbent”; Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has no party affiliation listed.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 02:14 UTC)

The Justice Department is seeking to block certification of Alaska’s Senate results if incumbent Dan Sullivan loses, arguing that a second candidate with the same name could confuse voters. The lawsuit says Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. ran as a Republican to mislead the senator’s supporters, and asks the state to delay certification while the government investigates. Alaska courts have kept the candidate on the ballot, and the department has not explained how it could identify voters’ intent in a secret ballot. Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the suit, citing the Constitution’s Elections Clause and the National Voter Registration Act, while denying any effort to overturn election results. Election experts and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski criticized the lawsuit, and Mary Peltola’s campaign joined a motion to intervene. Separately, Colorado Governor Jared Polis commuted Tina Peters’ state sentence after she was convicted in a voting-equipment case.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 01:27 UTC)

The Justice Department is suing Alaska over its Senate election, asking the state to delay certification while it investigates whether voters confused incumbent Dan Sullivan with another candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. Attorney General Todd Blanche says the suit seeks to preserve evidence and prevent unlawful results, not overturn an election; President Trump said he ordered the action. Daniel J. Sullivan denies trying to mislead voters, and Alaska’s courts have kept him on the ballot. Election-law experts have sharply criticized the lawsuit, while the ACLU and Mary Peltola’s campaign are seeking to intervene. Separately, federal judges questioned the basis for a Justice Department effort to block more than 20,000 California ballots linked to alleged noncitizens, as the state had already processed over 300,000. In Colorado, Governor Jared Polis commuted Tina Peters’ nearly nine-year sentence after her conviction over unauthorized access to voting equipment.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 00:01 UTC)

The Justice Department is suing Alaska over its U.S. Senate race, asking the state to delay certification if incumbent Dan Sullivan loses while officials investigate whether voters confused him with a second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. Attorney General Todd Blanche says the suit seeks to preserve evidence and address possible violations of federal law, not overturn the result. President Trump said he ordered the lawsuit, arguing the ballot unfairly identifies the senator as “incumbent.” Daniel J. Sullivan says his candidacy is his own and denies trying to confuse voters. Alaska’s courts previously kept him on the ballot after Republican officials challenged it; the state’s ranked-choice system lets voters rank both candidates. In the August primary, the senator received more than 68,000 votes, compared with 4,107 for Sullivan Jr. Election-law experts have sharply criticized the lawsuit’s legal basis, while Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski also objected.

(UPDATED October 25, 2026 21:57 UTC)

The Justice Department is suing over Alaska’s U.S. Senate race, seeking to block certification if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses while the government investigates possible voter confusion. Attorney General Todd Blanche says federal law requires states to address confusion, and insists the suit is not intended to overturn election results or lay groundwork for President Trump to challenge them. Trump said he directed the lawsuit, arguing the ballot should identify the incumbent as “Sen. Dan Sullivan.” His opponent shares the name Dan Sullivan: Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher from Petersburg, whose place on the ballot was upheld by Alaska’s courts. In the August primary, the senator received more than 68,000 votes, compared with 4,107 for Daniel J. Sullivan. Alaska’s ranked-choice system lets voters rank both candidates. Election-law experts criticized the lawsuit’s legal basis, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski also objected. Democrat Mary Peltola is also running.

(UPDATED October 25, 2026 19:57 UTC)

The Justice Department is suing to block certification of Alaska’s Senate results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses, alleging that two candidates with the same name could confuse voters. Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously represented President Trump, said the administration wants to preserve evidence and determine whether confusion affected the outcome, not overturn election results. Trump said he ordered the lawsuit, arguing that the ballot unfairly labels the incumbent and that voters may not understand the term. The other Dan Sullivan, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., is a retired teacher from Petersburg; ballots identify him without a party affiliation. Blanche told CNN’s Dana Bash that the administration was not laying groundwork to challenge the election, and called that suggestion “crazy.” Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski criticized the suit, while Democrat Mary Peltola is also running.

(UPDATED October 25, 2026 19:00 UTC)

The Justice Department is suing to block certification of Alaska’s Senate results if incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, arguing that two candidates with the same name could confuse voters. The incumbent appears on the ballot as “Dan S. Sullivan,” a registered Republican and incumbent; Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher from Petersburg, has no party listed. Republicans fear the second candidate could split votes and help Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, win. President Trump said he ordered the lawsuit, arguing the ballot should identify the incumbent as “Sen. Dan Sullivan,” not simply as incumbent. Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously represented Trump, defended the case in television interviews, saying it seeks to preserve evidence and address possible confusion, not overturn results. Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski criticized the suit. Election law experts called its legal basis weak, with one saying it had essentially no chance of success.