President Trump listens as Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, who is running for reelection, speaks at an Oct. 13 campaign rally in Wasilla, Alaska. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption
A federal judge has thrown out the Trump administration's highly unusual attempt to block the certification of results from a key U.S. Senate race in Alaska if the Republican incumbent loses.
In a ruling released Sunday, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason found the federal government does not have the ability to bring this lawsuit.
Justice Department attorneys — who had cited the preamble of the National Voter Registration Act in their case— are expected to appeal the ruling by Gleason, a nominee of former President Barack Obama.
President Trump said he ordered this lawsuit to be filed because out of the four Senate candidates on Alaska's ballot , two have similar names — Sen. Dan Sullivan, the Republican incumbent, and Daniel Sullivan Jr., who is not affiliated with a political party.
Alaska's Republican Party supported an earlier effort in state court that tried to keep Sullivan Jr., the non-incumbent, off the ballot. But in June, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled Sullivan Jr. has the right to run as a candidate.
Still, Republican allegations of Democrats propping up Sullivan Jr. to spoil the incumbent Sullivan's chances of winning reelection have long hung over this closely watched Senate contest.
A New York Times report about Democratic campaign operatives' efforts to recruit Sullivan Jr. — which NPR has not independently confirmed — drew new attention to those allegations. Alaska's Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation and indicated the results of the race may not be certified by the state depending on how that investigation turns out.
"If we find out there's wrongdoing, and if that means that the certification then is stopped or changed, then that's what happens," Dunleavy said Friday during an interview with NewsNation .
At a press conference in Anchorage on Friday, U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman said there is an "ongoing" criminal probe by the Justice Department.
The Democratic candidate, former Rep. Mary Peltola, has denied any involvement.
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