The Trump administration has moved quickly to intervene in Alaska’s Senate race, asking a federal judge to force state officials to set aside every ballot that ranks candidate Dan J. Sullivan. According to a court filing submitted by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, these precautionary measures are necessary to determine if voters were confused by the presence of two candidates with nearly identical names on the ballot. Woodward emphasized that once Election Day passes, it will be impossible to preserve these specific votes for potential investigation.

The legal push comes amid allegations that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola recruited Dan J. Sullivan, a former teacher, specifically to siphon votes away from the Republican incumbent, Senator Dan S. Sullivan. While Peltola and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have both denied any involvement in recruiting the challenger, the Justice Department is now seeking internal communications from both entities through several new filings aimed at uncovering their strategies.

Adding to the tension, U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman recently confirmed that a parallel criminal investigation is underway, though he refused to disclose specific targets or charges citing the need to protect the integrity of the probe. This escalation includes dozens of new subpoenas delivered to various campaign offices across the state as federal investigators pour more resources into Alaska following reports published by The New York Times.

President Donald Trump has been vocal in his criticism of the situation, describing the inclusion of a second Sullivan on the ticket as a total fraud and questioning whether his endorsed senator can overcome such an illegal split of the vote. Meanwhile, Senator Dan S. Sullivan has taken to national media to guide his supporters through what he calls a screwed-up system, explicitly instructing them on how to rank candidates and warning them not to give any preference to his namesake rival.