HOMER, Alaska (KTUU) – Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola said that she believes that justice will prevail in the lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump’s justice department to block certification of the U.S. Senate race in Alaska.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit last Thursday against the State of Alaska, asking the state to refrain from “certifying any result that may be impacted by voter confusion.”
After a campaign rally Tuesday night at Alice’s Champagne Palace in Homer, Alaska’s News Source caught up with Peltola for a few moments to ask her thoughts on the lawsuit.
“I have every confidence that Alaskan voters know what they’re doing, and I believe in the rule of law and free and fair elections,” Peltola said. “I have all the faith that this is going to get sorted out in the right way.”
Last week, Trump directed the DOJ to file a lawsuit against the State of Alaska to block certification of the Senate race if the incumbent Sullivan loses to Peltola, citing a claim that the Petersburg man entered the race in order to confuse voters and steal votes to help Peltola win.
It comes after months of back-and-forth between current Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is fighting for a third term, and another candidate on the same ballot named Dan J. Sullivan from Petersburg.
Petersburg’s Sullivan entered the race at the end of May and was removed from the ballot June 15 by the elections division. That case went to a Superior Court and the State Supreme Court. In both cases, the courts sided with the Petersburg Sullivan, ultimately reinstating the candidate on the ballot — one day before the state’s deadline to print ballots.
There has been no evidence of direct coordination — according to continuous Alaska’s News Source independent fact-checking efforts — showing that the Petersburg Sullivan was recruited by the Democratic Party, something that continues to be reiterated by national Republican organizations and the president.
Peltola led the incumbent Sullivan in the state primary election in August, receiving 49.54% of the vote to his 41.40%, according to official election results. Dan J. Sullivan received 2.47%. Despite not being a winning margin, Trump told reporters that it could jeopardize the race.
Sen. Sullivan’s response to last week’s lawsuit was that his team would “let the DOJ complaint run its course.”
“Alaskans can tell the difference between a Democrat sideshow and Senator Sullivan’s strong record of delivering for Alaska, a record he’ll keep building on for the next six years,” a statement from Sullivan read.
When asked about another big news item that occurred Tuesday — Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski announcing her endorsement of Democratic candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins in the race for governor — Peltola said the debate over Murkowski crossing party lines for the endorsement should not matter.
”All of us want what’s best for Alaska,” Peltola said. “All of us want, you know, safe communities, good roads, good schools. We’re all in this together, and I think that the party labels shouldn’t matter.
“It really is about the individual and their public service and their willingness to work with everybody. And I think it’s wonderful that we’re human to human endorsing one another as regular Alaskans with, you know, a heart that’s interested in serving Alaskans.”
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