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9:37 AM ETConfirmed

Politics Desk

In Short: The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit to block certification of the U.S. Senate race in Alaska if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses the contest while another candidate with the same name is on the ballot.

The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit to block certification of the U.S. Senate race in Alaska if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses the contest while another candidate with the same name is on the ballot, kicking off what many fear could become a lengthy battle between the government and states over certifying an election where the president's party is struggling.

According to Alaskapublic, the lawsuit aims to determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant for the incumbent senator.

The lawsuit comes amid a contentious election season, with President Donald Trump actively campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton in Texas, less than three miles away from where Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola was campaigning in Alaska.

In a potential sign that Republicans were looking to attract more voters, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was given a speaking part at Paxton's rally.

Paxton leaned on Trump’s support, calling him “the greatest president of my lifetime.”

The lawsuit also follows allegations that Peltola campaign staffers and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee were involved in a scheme to stack the ballot with candidates and recruit other men named Dan Sullivan, all in the hopes of siphoning off votes from the Republican incumbent.

Meanwhile, Trump has been actively campaigning for favored candidates, including Darline Graham in South Carolina, despite a growing rift within the Republican Party.

In Alaska, the Trump administration's lawsuit could set a precedent for future election disputes, potentially leading to a protracted legal battle over vote certification.

The lawsuit also highlights the complex legal and political challenges that arise when candidates with similar names run in the same election.

The ongoing legal and political maneuvering underscores the high stakes of the midterm elections, with candidates and parties employing various strategies to secure victories.

Background

What's confirmed

• Trump called El-Sayed, a former Detroit health official, a "jihadist" who was "on the side of the terrorists" and would "have to go through a metal detector before he's allowed to go into the Senate."

What's still developing

• A North Carolina Libertarian candidate for state Senate posted Sunday night posted on X that he intended to take his own life.
• He told the station, as police searched for him, that he had been "pretty depressed and suicidal." Police pursued him for hours, and during that time, he posted updates on X, the New York Post reported.
• The ex-cop caught on courthouse cameras pepper-spraying a Black truck driver and then slugging him from behind is now a… President Donald Trump went beyond calling Black and Jewish voters "crazy" for backing Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee on Thursday.
• Scott Golden, the chair of the Tennessee Republican Party, told Newsweek there are “legitimate issues on both sides” of the data center debate.
• “The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor. If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign,” Trump wrote in an August 31, 2026, post on Truth Social.
• Peltola’s campaign manager, Cheryl Bruce, wrote in a statement that the candidate was in “good spirits” following the accident, but her medical providers recommended she reschedule events Sunday and Monday to recover.
• “It has just been determined that the Democrats in Alaska illegally searched for, and recruited, a man named Dan Sullivan to run against our distinguished Republican Senator, Dan Sullivan, in order to defraud, confuse, and obfuscate the Election, thereby taking votes away from the REAL Senator, Dan Sullivan,” Trump wrote on Wednesday.
• Pulling COVID-19 vaccines off the market, decreasing medications for children, cleaning up water, and putting fresh food in schools are all “pro-life issues,” according to Iowa Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn.
• “So that means you’re bought off by George Soros’ family. That means that you’re bought off by Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda. Those people who are supporting you pour that money into your campaign. You begged Chuck Schumer, begged Chuck Schumer. Matter of fact, you had to sneak by the trash cans in the back of the building to beg for that money. So here’s the guy to send money out of politics until it gets to shove into his pocket. That absolutely tells you who he is,” Rogers stated : The heated debate came as Americans prepare to head to the polls for the midterm elections in November.
• The leftist candidate was also recently questioned over his ties to Soros, and although he promised to get money out of politics, he is “secretly benefitting from over $15 million from those associated with the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein,” Breitbart News reported last week.
• CBS News' "America Decides: Election 2026" live coverage on TV and cable starts Tuesday at 7 p.m.
• Candidates for governor are on the ballot in 39 states, along with some high-profile measures like California's proposed billionaire tax.

Sources

• Justthenewslink
• The North Carolina Beatlink
• Newsweeklink
• Kdhnewslink
• Washingtonexaminerlink
• Breitbartlink
• Washingtonsunlink
• NBC Newslink
• CBS Newslink
• PBSlink
• Alaskapubliclink
• BBClink
• Politicolink
• Route-Fiftylink
• WarpBeat — background on Trump Pushes South Carolina Senate Candidate Amid Party Rift link
• WRAL — video link