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By Steve Mollman
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Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin said President Donald Trump should “speak for himself” after Trump said many people do not know what the word “incumbent” means while criticizing Alaska’s U.S. Senate ballot.
Raskin made the remark during an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press as he discussed the controversy surrounding two candidates named Dan Sullivan in Alaska’s closely watched Senate race.
“They identified the incumbent as the Republican incumbent. It could not be clearer,” Raskin said. “Donald Trump says people don’t know the word incumbent. He should speak for himself, because the vast majority of Americans obviously do.”
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But Raskin also criticized the alleged effort to recruit candidates who shared the Republican senator’s name, calling it “stupid politics” and “ridiculous politics.”
Newsweek has contacted the White House and the campaigns of Republican Senator Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola for comment.
Why Donald Trump Said Voters May Not Understand ‘Incumbent’
Trump made his original comment on October 25 while arguing that Alaska’s ballot did not sufficiently distinguish between incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher also running for the Senate.
The president said the senator should have been identified more explicitly.
“At least let them use the name Senator Dan Sullivan, as opposed to incumbent, because a lot of people don’t know what incumbent means,” Trump told reporters.
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The ballot identifies the Republican senator as “Dan S. Sullivan,” includes his party registration and labels him “Incumbent.” His challenger appears as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” without a party designation beneath his name.
Trump has repeatedly argued that the arrangement could confuse voters and hurt the senator, whom he has endorsed. Alaska election officials have maintained that they designed the ballot to distinguish between the two candidates as clearly as possible.
Attorneys for Alaska have also pointed to the candidates’ different initials, the use of “Jr.” for the challenger and the senator’s Republican and incumbent designations.
Jamie Raskin Calls Alleged Alaska Tactic ‘Stupid Politics’
Raskin was asked during Sunday’s interview about The New York Times’ reporting that Peltola aides instructed a staffer to find people in Alaska named Dan Sullivan.
The newspaper also reported that Peltola’s former campaign manager said the candidate was “definitely aware” of the effort. The former campaign manager later sought to retract her statements, while Peltola and her campaign have denied involvement.
Asked whether such a tactic would cross an ethical line even if it were legal, Raskin said: “I’m sure I would never do it. It’s stupid politics. Nobody would do that, and Mary Peltola has said she had nothing to do with that.”
Raskin said sharing another candidate’s name does not prevent someone from seeking office.
“There are people who have the same name who are running in all 50 states,” he said. “That happens all over the place. And nowhere is there a law which says, ‘If you have the same name as somebody who got on the ballot first, you can’t get on the ballot.’”
Pressed on whether the alleged effort represented an attempt to manipulate voters, Raskin again criticized the tactic.
“I said it’s ridiculous politics, and I’ve never met anybody who would do that before,” he said. “But it does happen.”
He added: “The problem is you can’t stop anybody from running for office in America, and you can’t stop people from recruiting other people to run for office.”
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Mary Peltola Denies Recruiting Second Dan Sullivan
Peltola has denied knowing about or participating in an effort to recruit Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.
“I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent,” she said at a campaign rally in Juneau on Thursday. “That is all I have ever known about. I am not interested in tricking voters. I know I can beat Dan Sullivan.”
Speaking at a rally in Anchorage on Friday, Peltola said she was “deeply offended” by allegations that she was involved in another candidate’s campaign.
The Alaskans for Mary campaign previously told Newsweek: “The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.”
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has also denied involvement in recruiting Sullivan Jr. or other candidates.
Senator Sullivan’s campaign has accused Peltola’s operation of misleading voters.
“Mary Peltola and her campaign have spent months gaslighting Alaskans, denying a scheme they were running all along,” campaign spokesperson Nate Adams previously told Newsweek.
Alaska election officials initially removed Sullivan Jr. from the ballot after concluding that his candidacy was intended to confuse or mislead voters. A Superior Court judge reversed that decision, finding that election officials lacked authority to impose the “good faith” candidacy requirement they had used, and the Alaska Supreme Court subsequently allowed Sullivan Jr. to remain on the ballot.
Sullivan Jr. has maintained that he entered the race independently because he was dissatisfied with the incumbent’s representation.
“It’s a free country,” he said after Alaska courts restored him to the ballot, according to Courthouse News Service. He added that he hoped voters knew “who and what they are voting for” but that “choice is good.”
Judge Dismisses DOJ Lawsuit Over Alaska Senate Election
The dispute has expanded beyond campaign rhetoric into separate civil and criminal proceedings.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason on Sunday dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit over Alaska’s Senate election.
The department had sought to block certification if Senator Sullivan lost under circumstances in which votes cast for Sullivan Jr. may have affected the result. It had also asked Gleason to order Alaska election officials to preserve and segregate ballots that ranked Sullivan Jr. so officials could investigate possible voter confusion.
As a result, Alaska will not be required in this case to segregate those ballots.
Alaska’s Republican-led government had urged Gleason to dismiss the case, calling the Justice Department’s position “meritless.” State attorneys argued that segregating ballots would be practically impossible and potentially incompatible with voter-privacy protections because the ballots would not reveal why an individual selected Sullivan Jr.
The state also argued that Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system helps address possible confusion because voters can rank both Sullivans. If one is eliminated, a ballot can transfer to the other if he is the voter’s next available choice.
Trump has said he directed the Justice Department to sue.
“I’m the one that said ‘do it,’” he told reporters after the case was filed.
Attorney General Todd Blanche subsequently said Justice Department attorneys developed the lawsuit and that the department did not coordinate with any campaign or candidate.
The dismissal concerned the Justice Department’s civil lawsuit and does not end the separate federal criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding Sullivan Jr.’s candidacy.
FBI Investigates Allegations Surrounding Alaska Ballot
A separate federal criminal investigation is examining the circumstances surrounding Sullivan Jr.’s candidacy.
Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas and records-preservation demands, while Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman said Friday that recent reporting had prompted a “significant surge” of federal law-enforcement resources to the state.
Heyman has not identified potential targets or publicly specified what federal crimes investigators believe may have occurred. He emphasized that the investigation would determine whether any law had been broken.
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has separately ordered the Alaska Bureau of Investigation to examine whether the alleged conduct violated state law.
The existence of an investigation is not itself a finding that anyone committed a crime or that Alaska’s election results would be inaccurate.
Alaska Senate Race Could Affect Control of Congress
The controversy is unfolding just before the November 3 midterm elections in a race that could help determine control of the Senate.
Peltola is seeking to become the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Alaska since Mark Begich won in 2008. She is competing against Senator Sullivan, Sullivan Jr. and Gerald Heikes.
Alaska uses ranked-choice voting in federal general elections. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest-finishing candidate is eliminated and ballots are redistributed based on voters’ subsequent rankings. The process continues until one candidate surpasses 50 percent.
The state targets November 18 for ranked-choice tabulation and November 25 for certification, meaning a final result may not be known immediately after Election Day.
Newsweek reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
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