President Donald Trump on Thursday called for the votes cast for two other candidates in Alaska's unsettled Senate race to be awarded to the Republican incumbent, Dan Sullivan, according to WP Wiadomości. The president argued on Truth Social that this is the only fair way to end a contest that remains undecided, even though the Democrat, Mary Peltola, is currently ahead.
With about 74 percent of ballots counted, Peltola, a former Democratic congresswoman, holds 48.2 percent to Sullivan's 47.9 percent — a gap of 637 votes, WP Wiadomości reports. Gerald Heikes stands at 2.3 percent and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. at 1.7 percent.
Why it matters
The outcome will help settle the balance of the next Senate, and the president's intervention puts him directly into a vote-counting dispute in a state where the result is still open. Alaska is one of two states where the Senate result has not yet been determined, the other being Mississippi, according to WP Wiadomości.
In his post, Trump said ballots for "Fake Dan Sullivan" and a second candidate he described as a plant placed on the ballot by Democrats should immediately be transferred to the "REAL Dan Sullivan," after which, in his view, the election would be over and Sullivan would win comfortably. He added that there was no other fair solution and signed the message with his initials. The post referred to candidates whose names resemble the Republican senator's.
How Alaska counts its votes
Alaska uses a ranked-choice system. If no candidate clears 50 percent, the preferences of voters who backed the third- and fourth-placed candidates are applied when the votes are divided between Peltola and Sullivan, with the next choices marked on each ballot deciding the allocation.
Analyses by The New York Times and the VoteHub center suggest the uncounted ballots may favor Peltola, according to WP Wiadomości. An analysis by Alaska Beacon, by contrast, indicates that if the second round of preference counting is triggered, Sullivan could pick up roughly 860 additional votes from supporters of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and Heikes.
Governor Mike Dunleavy said on Thursday that a complete tally could take time. He said a large batch of ballots would be reviewed on Tuesday and another the following Friday, WP Wiadomości reports.
Investigation into the minor candidates
Federal and state prosecutors are investigating the candidacies of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and Heikes. According to The New York Times, cited by WP Wiadomości, both men were encouraged by Democrats to draw votes away from the sitting senator. The outlet notes that similar tactics have been used before by both parties and are not in themselves illegal. The Alaska Supreme Court allowed Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. to appear on the ballot.
The wider national picture
Democrats have secured control of the Senate with at least 54 of 100 seats, though the final composition is not yet known, WP Wiadomości reports. In the House, 35 of 435 races remain undecided; Democrats already hold a majority with at least 247 seats against 153 for the Republicans. An NBC News projection cited by the outlet suggests the party could end up with 259 seats, which would be its largest advantage over its rivals since 1990.
In Mississippi, the Democratic prosecutor Scott Colom leads Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 724 votes, or 0.1 percentage points, and analyses indicate he currently has the better chance of winning, according to WP Wiadomości.
The next batch of Alaska results is due on Tuesday, with a further update the following Friday.
