US midterms 2026: Trump claims Alaska votes for ‘fake’ Dan Sullivan should go to Republican incumbent amid tight Senate race

President Donald Trump on Thursday called for all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan and Gerald Heikes in Alaska's Senate race to be transferred to Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan, describing the move as the only ‘fair solution’. “The vote totals for the Fake Dan Sullivan, plus the other ‘slug’ that the Dems put on the Ballot, should be immediately given to the REAL Dan Sullivan, and the Election is over - He easily wins,” Trump said. “There is no other fair solution!”

The Alaska Senate contest remained undecided two days after the election, with Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan locked in a close race against Democratic challenger Mary Peltola. Trump's Justice Department is investigating whether Peltola's campaign attempted to confuse voters by recruiting another candidate named Dan Sullivan to divert votes from the Republican incumbent. The investigation follows a major report by The New York Times.

Transferring votes from one candidate to another would be unprecedented. Alaska's ranked-choice voting system had already allowed voters to rank both candidates named Dan Sullivan on their ballots. Trump's claim that the Republican incumbent would win is not supported by the current results. Peltola is leading and could potentially secure more than 50% of the vote once the remaining ballots are counted. Approximately 75,000 votes are still outstanding.

Trump's proposed solution would also violate Alaska election law, which provides for ranked-choice voting, a system similar to the one used in New York City's mayoral primary. Under Alaska's election rules, a candidate wins if they receive more than 50% of the final vote. If no candidate reaches a majority, votes are redistributed according to the ranked preferences of voters whose first-choice candidates finished behind the leaders. Democrats have already secured control of the Senate after winning at least 54 seats.

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Peltola maintains narrow lead in Alaska Senate race

The latest official count on Thursday showed Peltola narrowly ahead of Sullivan by fewer than 1,000 votes. She held approximately 48.2% of the vote compared with Sullivan's 47.9%. The candidate described as the ‘second Dan Sullivan’ appeared on the ballot as ‘Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.’ and finished last with approximately 3,600 votes.

Gerald L. Heikes, another Republican candidate, was in third place with more than 4,800 votes. Around 78% of the estimated ballots have been counted, leaving approximately 75,000 votes yet to be included in the official tally. Most of the outstanding ballots are expected to be mail-in votes from remote communities across Alaska's vast and sparsely populated regions.

The complete results are unlikely to be available until a few days before Thanksgiving. A significant share of the remaining ballots comes from Native American communities, which traditionally lean heavily towards Democratic candidates. Peltola, who is herself Native American, could benefit from this voting pattern as the remaining ballots are counted.