DOJ WANTS TO BLOCK ALASKA CERTIFICATION IF THE GOP LOSES CLOSE: And Alaska Calls It Meritless

The Justice Department escalated its pre-election legal fight on Thursday, filing an amended lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska's Senate race if the Republican incumbent loses by a narrow margin.

The suit centers on Alaska's Senate contest, one of about 10 highly competitive Senate races that will help decide control of the chamber. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win back the Senate majority.

Federal lawyers argued that operatives for Democratic candidate Mary Peltola orchestrated a sham campaign to mislead voters, citing a New York Times report that operatives recruited a candidate with the same name as incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.

Alaska election officials pushed back sharply, calling the amended lawsuit meritless in a court filing Thursday night and saying it had cast a cloud over the state's election that runs against the public interest.

Peltola's campaign has previously said it had no involvement with either Sullivan campaign, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has denied involvement. The other candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, has previously denied that his aim was to cause confusion or divert votes. Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy has called for a state investigation, while an Alaska elections attorney quoted by Reuters said the spoiler revelations were unlikely to change the outcome with so few undecided voters left. Whether the court will block certification remains unconfirmed — no ruling on that request was reported in the source checked.