President Donald Trump reacted with fury on Monday following a federal court decision that dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block the certification of Alaska’s U.S. Senate race. Taking to social media, Trump posted an image of an Alaska Senate ballot overlaid with a large, all-caps label branding the election material as a “SCAM.” The post contained no additional text.
The high-profile Senate contest pits Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan against Mary Peltola, a former occupant of Alaska’s sole at-large House seat. Recent polling has indicated a narrow lead for Peltola over Sullivan. In the days leading up to the court’s decision, Trump repeatedly criticized the administration of the election, specifically pointing to the inclusion of a second candidate on the ballot who shares the incumbent senator’s name.
Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system lists the current senator as “Sullivan, Dan S” alongside explicit designations identifying him as a “Registered Republican” and the incumbent. Directly above him on the ballot is the second candidate, listed as “Daniel J. Jr” without any party affiliation. Trump argued that voters would be confused by the similar names and claimed the setup would siphon votes away from the Republican incumbent.
The social media outburst arrived less than a day after U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason tossed out a lawsuit that had demanded a court-ordered investigation into whether votes cast for the second candidate—a retired teacher—were actually intended for the incumbent senator. State officials had dismissed the legal challenge as entirely baseless, contending that any such investigation would inevitably violate voter privacy protections. Judge Gleason concurred in her ruling, noting that the remedies requested by the plaintiffs were practically impossible given the vast number of ballots already cast.
“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,” Judge Gleason wrote in her decision.
The ballot controversy has also drawn scrutiny regarding the entry of the second candidate into the race. Reports surfaced indicating a connection between Peltola’s campaign and efforts to encourage the retired teacher to run, though the candidate stated in June that he had no direct communications with Peltola’s team regarding his candidacy. The Peltola campaign has issued statements denying any involvement, and Peltola herself has publicly stated she is “not interested in tricking voters.”
Prior to the federal court ruling, Republican efforts to remove the retired teacher from the August open primary ballot were rejected by state courts, including the Alaska Supreme Court. Meanwhile, political analysts note that the use of minor or similarly named candidates has occasionally appeared across various American political campaigns, involving operatives from multiple parties.
