Trump team's lawsuit to block Alaska Senate race certification dismissed by judge

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department aimed at halting the certification of Alaska’s U.S. Senate election should Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan suffer a defeat.Sullivan, an ally of President Donald Trump, faces Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola in one of the country’s most closely watched races, with Senate control at stake. Tuesday’s ranked-choice election also includes two candidates who have done little campaigning, one of whom shares the incumbent’s name.The legal challenge, filed under two weeks before the election while early voting was already underway, sought an inquiry to determine if votes cast for retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan were meant for the senator. State officials stated the suit was baseless, arguing there was no way to make that determination without violating voter privacy.U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason wrote in her order on Sunday that the relief requested by the federal government is "infeasible" because many voters have already cast their ballots. She explained that submitted ballots have been commingled to the point where the identity of individual voters cannot be determined.Dan J. Sullivan, left, is challenging Senator Dan Sullivan, Republican of Alaska, for his seat (Sullivan for Senate/Getty)"More fundamentally, the United States provides no workable plan as to how it proposes to segregate ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan on Election Day and then conduct a court-ordered unspecified "investigation" of those ballots in a manner that would preserve voter secrecy," she wrote.The ruling comes after Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan stated Sunday that he doubted claims by his Democratic opponent that she had no idea her top political aides were involved in recruiting a retired schoolteacher also named Dan Sullivan onto the ballot to confuse voters in a race that could determine control of the Senate.Republicans have long suspected that Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, and her campaign arranged for the second Sullivan to be on the ballot. They contend their suspicions were confirmed by a New York Times report last week based on interviews with Peltola's ex-campaign manager, text messages, and campaign finance documents showing an operative attempting to recruit decoy candidates was paid by a group backing Peltola."There is no way this went on for a year that they weren’t informing her," Sullivan said on CNN's "State of the Union," two days before Election Day. "She got caught lying, and she’s still lying to the Alaskan people, the media, to all of us."Peltola has maintained she had nothing to do with recruiting the other Sullivan, describing the issue as a "distraction" from main concerns like high prices caused by the war in Iran launched by Republican Donald Trump. Her campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have both denied involvement.Asked before a rally Friday if someone on her campaign could have been involved in recruiting the other candidate, Peltola told KTUU: "I have no idea." She added: "I honestly have no idea."The second candidate is listed on the ballot as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., while the senator is listed as Dan S. Sullivan and designated as a Republican incumbent. The retired teacher has long maintained that he entered the race independently.The Trump administration has called for Mary Peltola, Democratic candidate for US Senate in Alaska, to face charges over allegations she recruited Dan J. Sullivan (AFP via Getty Images)Following the Times report, Trump, who directed the Department of Justice to sue to stop certification of a potential Peltola win, called for the Democratic candidate to be prosecuted. Federal agents arrived in Alaska to issue subpoenas in the case, despite Republicans, including those working with Trump, having a long history of backing decoy candidates. Alaska's Republican governor has ordered an investigation and suggested he may refuse to certify a Peltola victory.South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who leads the GOP Senate campaign arm, suggested on NBC's "Meet the Press" that criminal charges could be appropriate."We know that it is criminal for candidates to work in collusion with other parties to confuse voters," he said.Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., noted on NBC that candidates sharing identical names "happens all over the place," though he stated he would not promote such a tactic."It’s stupid politics," Raskin said. "Nobody would do that, and Mary Peltola has said she had nothing to do with it."Sen. Bernie Sanders offered a similar view on CBS' "Face the Nation." "What the Democrats did in Alaska seems to me to be pretty dumb," the Vermont independent said. "It’s not illegal. It’s what happens in every election."Sullivan, a former Alaska attorney general, said he would "let the lawyers" determine if crimes occurred, though he anticipated the second candidate would affect the result."I’m sure I’m going to lose a lot of votes to that trickery," Sullivan said.Sullivan also hesitated when asked if he would urge the state against certifying a Peltola win, before stating, "I'm going to accept the results of the election."Both candidates spent the final days traveling across Alaska to campaign.On Saturday night, Sullivan handed out candy at a "trunk-or-treat" event at a recreation center north of Anchorage, where he joked his costume was "the real Dan Sullivan."