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By Steve Mollman
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President Donald Trump on Thursday called for votes cast for two candidates in Alaska’s unresolved U.S. Senate race to be handed to Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, a proposal that an Alaska legal expert told Newsweek has no basis under the state’s election law.
“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. There is no other fair solution!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The “Fake Dan Sullivan” is an apparent reference to Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher whose presence on the ballot alongside the incumbent has fueled months of legal and political controversy. Trump’s reference to the “other ‘slug’” appears to mean Republican candidate Gerald Heikes, the only other named candidate besides Democrat Mary Peltola and the two Sullivans.
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But under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, those votes cannot simply be assigned to Senator Sullivan.
Asked whether Alaska election officials have any legal mechanism to add all the votes cast for Heikes and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. to the senator’s total regardless of voters’ subsequent rankings, Jeff Feldman, a University of Washington law professor who has litigated extensively in Alaska, told Newsweek: “No. Alaska law is crystal clear on the proper procedure for tabulating votes.”
Newsweek has contacted the White House, Gerald Heikes and Dan Sullivan, Mary Peltola and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. campaigns for comment.
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Trump’s Demand Collides With Alaska Ranked-Choice Voting Rules
Peltola held a thin lead in the latest unofficial results Thursday, with 102,962 votes, or 48.2 percent, to 102,325, or 47.9 percent, for Senator Dan Sullivan. Heikes had 4,846 votes, or about 2.3 percent, while Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. had 3,600, or about 1.7 percent.
That leaves the Democrat only 637 votes ahead of the incumbent, while more than 8,000 first-choice votes went to the two lower-performing candidates.
Neither Peltola nor Dan Sullivan currently has a majority.
Under Alaska’s ranked-choice system, if no candidate wins more than 50 percent of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Ballots for that candidate then transfer to the voter’s next-ranked remaining choice, if the voter listed one. The process repeats until a candidate has a majority. The ranked-choice tabulation is scheduled for November 18.
That means some votes initially cast for the two lower-ranking candidates could ultimately help Dan Sullivan. But that is different from the blanket transfer Trump called for. Other ballots could go to Peltola or become exhausted if voters did not rank another remaining candidate.
“Some voters will have designated Senator Dan Sullivan as their second choice, and those votes will be added to his tally,” Feldman said. “Some voters will have designated Mary Peltola as their second choice, and those votes will be added to her tally. And some voters will have declined to designate anyone as their second choice, and those votes will not be added to anyone’s tally.”
Asked whether disregarding those rankings and assigning the votes to Dan Sullivan would raise constitutional or other legal concerns, Feldman said: “Yes. But the constitutional considerations will not be raised or reached because the Alaska statute is clear on how votes are to be tabulated.”
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Who Is Gerald Heikes, Trump’s Apparent ‘Slug’?
Heikes is a Palmer, Alaska, resident, minister and drywall contractor who has repeatedly run for public office, including previous campaigns for governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House.
The Republican finished fifth in Alaska’s August top-four Senate primary with about 1 percent of the vote. Heikes nevertheless reached the general election after fourth-place finisher David Leslie, a Democrat, withdrew, opening a place on the ballot.
Heikes has also figured in allegations about efforts to shape Alaska's four-candidate ballot. He told The New York Times that a man approached him about running and offered to help his candidacy, though he said he did not remember the man’s name.
Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have denied recruiting candidates into the race.
Heikes has received comparatively little attention in a race dominated by Peltola, the incumbent and the controversy surrounding the second Sullivan. Trump’s Thursday post brought Heikes into the dispute directly.
Heikes is also potentially significant to the final result because he currently has more first-choice votes than Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. The roughly 8,400 ballots cast for the two candidates far exceed the current 637-vote margin between Peltola and Dan Sullivan.
It is not yet known how those voters ranked the rest of the field.
Trump Escalates Alaska Senate Fight After DOJ Lawsuit
Trump’s post marks a further escalation of a controversy that has produced state and federal investigations and litigation.
The Alaska Division of Elections initially removed Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the ballot after concluding that his candidacy was intended to confuse or mislead voters. A state judge reversed the decision, finding that Alaska law did not authorize election officials to impose the “good faith” candidacy requirement they had used, and the Alaska Supreme Court allowed him to remain on the ballot.
Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has denied being a decoy and has said he entered the race because he was dissatisfied with the incumbent’s representation.
The controversy intensified after The New York Times reported that people associated with Peltola’s campaign and Democratic operatives had been involved in efforts to recruit candidates who could draw support from the Republican incumbent.
The Justice Department subsequently sued Alaska, seeking to block certification under circumstances in which Dan Sullivan lost and the second Sullivan’s candidacy could have affected the outcome.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the lawsuit before Tuesday's election, finding that the government lacked standing and had failed to identify a workable remedy that would preserve ballot secrecy. The Justice Department appealed.
The department has separately pursued a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s candidacy. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered a state investigation.
Could Heikes and Daniel Sullivan’s Votes Still Decide the Race?
Yes, but not automatically in the way Trump proposed.
The preliminary totals currently reflect voters’ first choices. Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., who is in fourth place, would be eliminated first if the present order remains unchanged when ranked-choice tabulation begins.
His ballots would then be redistributed according to each voter’s next available ranking.
If neither Peltola nor Dan Sullivan reaches a majority after that round, Heikes would be eliminated next, assuming he remains in third place. His ballots would then transfer according to those voters’ rankings.
Because Heikes is a Republican, his voters may favor the Republican senator in later rankings. But their actual rankings, rather than their initial vote for Heikes, determine where those ballots go.
That makes the more than 8,000 ballots cast for the two lower-ranking candidates potentially decisive without treating them as votes automatically belonging to the incumbent.
Alaska Senate Result May Not Be Known Until November 18
Alaska still has ballots left to count, meaning the current 637-vote gap may change substantially before ranked-choice tabulation.
The state is expected to update its count on November 10 and November 13 before conducting ranked-choice tabulation on November 18. Certification is targeted for November 25.
That means Trump’s declaration that “the Election is over” comes while tens of thousands of ballots reportedly remain uncounted and before voters’ subsequent rankings have been tabulated.
The election is among the most closely watched outstanding Senate contests. Peltola, a former U.S. representative, is attempting to win an Alaska Senate seat held by Dan Sullivan since 2015.
Trump’s latest proposal, however, goes beyond his previous complaints that the presence of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. could confuse voters.
Asked how unusual it was for a president to call for legally cast votes for one candidate to be counted for another, Feldman said: “I’m not aware of that ever previously occurring. Of course, I’m only 77 years old, so my memory only goes back to 1949.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Steve Mollman and Dave Siminoff.
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