# DOJ set to appeal ruling in Alaska Senate race dispute over ‘Decoy Dan’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/doj-set-to-appeal-ruling-in-alaska-senate-race-dispute-over-decoy-dan/
- Published: 2026-11-01T22:16:21+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-02T02:13:06+00:00
- Original publisher: Fox News (publisher lean: Far right)
- Original article: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-set-appeal-ruling-alaska-senate-race-dispute-over-decoy-dan
- Topics: Elections, Government, Politics, World

## Key points

- Judge rejects DOJ request to delay Alaska Senate election certification.
- The Justice Department says it will appeal to the 9th Circuit.
- The dispute centres on two candidates with similar names.

## Summary

A federal judge has dismissed the Justice Department’s bid to delay certification of Alaska’s Senate election over the candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., whose name resembles incumbent Republican Dan S. Sullivan’s. The DOJ says it will appeal, arguing the case concerns possible voter confusion; the dispute matters because the closely watched race could affect control of the Senate.

Judge Sharon Gleason said the government had not shown how an investigation could establish voters’ intentions while preserving ballot secrecy, and that the requested measures would intrude on Alaska’s role in running elections. The case is going to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. Reports said people linked to Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign helped recruit Sullivan Jr. as a spoiler, an allegation Peltola and Sullivan Jr. deny; Alaska uses ranked-choice voting if no candidate wins a first-round majority.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.