Alaskans fight Trump's corrupt attempt to block Peltola from U.S. Senate
President Donald Trump’s ridiculous lawsuit seeking to strip Alaskans of the right to a free and fair election will fail.
But even if it is tossed by District Court Judge Sharon Gleason, as I hope it will be, the lawsuit is a corrupt act, a signal that Trump will start barking about the election being rigged if and when Sullivan loses.
The biggest lie is this Trump claim, “The United States accordingly brings this lawsuit to protect the integrity of the 2026 Senate election in Alaska.”
The truth, as Peltola says, is that this is an “unprecedented preemptive strike on democratic elections.”
This is Trump’s version of integrity, which means that Sullivan has to win to prevent Congress from acting like an independent branch of government.
“Alaskans, apparently, must elect Senator Dan S. Sullivan or the President will not let them elect anyone at all,” a court filing for Peltola says.
More despicable than the clownish court claims is the behavior of Sen. Dan Sullivan, Rep. Nick Begich the Third, Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the acting attorney general.
They have failed the people of Alaska by silently assenting to Trump’s naked corruption—the attempt to ban Peltola from office.
Where are their complaints about this extreme case of federal overreach?
Sullivan claims to have no opinion that he is able to share with Alaska voters. He did have a campaign flunky say, “We’ll let the DOJ complaint run its course.”
What Trump is trying to do is clearly illegal and unconstitutional, but Sullivan is putting his personal desire to cling to power above the rights of Alaskans. His political cowardice is front and center.
Trump’s lawsuit is a harbinger of what is to come from a desperate 80-year-old who brags constantly about passing the dementia tests he has to take for some reason.
It is impossible for Trump to get what he asks in the lawsuit—proof that people who voted for “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.” actually meant to vote for “Sullivan, Dan. S. (Registered Republican) Incumbent.”
There will be no proof because ballots are secret. The legal justification cited by the Department of Justice is language in the preamble to the National Voter Registration Act for backup.
“The National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”)—the only legal basis the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) provides for its claims—regulates voter registration and has literally nothing to say about which candidates are listed on the ballot or how they are displayed. Those issues are governed by state law,” Peltola’s filing says.
Here are some of the latest developments:
Democratic Challenger Mary Peltola says she can’t count on Gov. Mike Dunleavy to defend the state in this case. She’s right. Peltola is among those asking that District Court Judge Sharon Gleason toss the Trump lawsuit immediately. Dismissal is possible because the shoddy document filed for Trump and signed by E. Bryan Wilson, associate attorney general in Anchorage, is a disgrace. Wilson should think about a new career.
The Alaska Beacon reports that “Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman was at Trump’s rally in Wasilla this month.” Trump talked about Heyman and posed for a picture with him. In the future, when the Department of Justice is repaired and restored by a competent attorney general, the federal lawyers who have taken part in Trump’s corrupt activities should be held accountable.
Alaska voters Rise Roy and Jan Jakub Grzeda, the League of Women Voters and Common Cause have also filed to try to stop the case.
“It is my understanding that the United States seeks an order prohibiting the State from certifying the election results, pending some sort of investigation into voters’ intent if our current Senator is not re-elected. If the state is prohibited from certifying election results for the 2026 Senate election, I will be disenfranchised. If the state is unable to certify the results of a validly conducted election, it will have the effect of nullifying the ballots and voice of every single Alaskan,” said Grzeda.
In other news, Sen. Bill Wielechowski says at least 18 rural communities have failed to open offices for early voting, the latest in the series of failures by Dunleavy, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and Elections Director Carol Beecher. This is outrageous and inexcusable. The law requires the offices to open. Incompetence is the hallmark of this regime.
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