U.S. Politics · 31 outlets (L 10 · C 9 · R 10 · 2 not rated)
DOJ sued to block Alaska Senate certification; Peltola seeks dismissal
The Justice Department sued Alaska last week, asking a federal court to block certification of the Senate election if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses narrowly, citing potential voter confusion because two candidates named Dan Sullivan are on the ballot.[1, 7, 8 +2] Democrat Mary Peltola asked a judge for an emergency ruling to dismiss the lawsuit before the midterm elections.[12, 13] Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the lawsuit in a combative interview, saying the department does not want to block Alaska's election; MS NOW reported his statement is at odds with what the department is asking for in court.[5, 11]
CNN analyst and former DOJ lawyer Elie Honig said the department is 'simply dead wrong' on the law it is relying on.[1, 15] An elections expert sounded the alarm as the department sought to preemptively block certification of the state's midterm election.[7]
Covered by The New York Times, CBS News, Fox News and 28 more
Read first Peltola Seeks Emergency Ruling To Dismiss Trump's Alaska Election Lawsuit Before Midterms
Where accounts differ (2)
- FramingBlack America Web described the suit as an effort to stop the election 'if his guy loses' and Democrats win, while Reason framed it as the administration saying the state should not certify 'if the incumbent loses too narrowly.'[3, 23]
- Black America Web · Left · Oct 25, 10:52 p.m. ET Trump Sues Alaska To Stop A Senate Election If His Guy Loses
A man named Dan Sullivan is running against the Republican incumbent with the same name, and now the Justice Department wants to block certification if Democrats win.
- Reason · Leans right · Oct 26, 10:00 a.m. ET Justice Department Targets Alaska Senate Election
The Trump administration says the state should not certify the election if the incumbent loses too narrowly.
- Black America Web · Left · Oct 25, 10:52 p.m. ET Trump Sues Alaska To Stop A Senate Election If His Guy Loses
- Facts differMS NOW reported that Attorney General Todd Blanche said the DOJ does not want to block Alaska's election, while the outlet noted the DOJ's lawsuit asks a court to potentially block certification.[1, 5]
- MS NOW · Leans left · Oct 26, 12:26 p.m. ET Blanche says the DOJ doesn’t want to block Alaska’s election. The DOJ’s lawsuit says otherwise.
The attorney general’s social media statement is at odds with what the department is asking for in court. The post Blanche says the DOJ doesn’t want to block Alaska’s election. The DOJ’s lawsuit says otherwise. appeared…
- AlterNet · Leans left · Oct 26, 2:20 p.m. ET Ex-DOJ lawyer torches Blanche as 'dead wrong' on everything in new suit
President Donald Trump's Justice Department is "simply dead wrong" on every count in their new election meddling lawsuit , according to CNN analyst Elie Honig , who argued that the law it has hinged its case on "has…
- MS NOW · Leans left · Oct 26, 12:26 p.m. ET Blanche says the DOJ doesn’t want to block Alaska’s election. The DOJ’s lawsuit says otherwise.
How balanced is this coverage?
Of the 29 rated outlets that covered it, 10 are left of center (3 of them in the Left group), 9 are center and 10 are right of center (7 of them in the Right group). 2 more are not rated.
- Left: Atlanta Black Star (−2.03), Black America Web (−1.40), Crooks and Liars (−1.26).
- Leans left: NewsOne (−1.18), AlterNet (−1.16), The New Republic (−1.09), Raw Story (−0.94), MS NOW (−0.76), Washington Monthly (−0.73), The New York Times (−0.70).
- Center: Newsweek (−0.30), Fortune (−0.25), CBS News (−0.14), Mediaite (+0.04), Yahoo News (+0.07), The Hill (+0.10), UPI (+0.17), Forbes (+0.19), CNBC (+0.40).
- Leans right: New York Post (+0.64), RealClearPolitics (+0.87), Reason (+0.94).
- Right: The Washington Times (+1.27), Washington Examiner (+1.34), Fox News (+1.52), The Daily Wire (+2.07), The Western Journal (+2.13), The Daily Signal (+2.20), The Right Scoop (+3.11).
Not rated Al Jazeera, Los Angeles Times. Not placed: they have no lean score.
Each dot is an outlet that covered it, placed by its audience-lean score (Eady et al. 2025), which measures who shares its links, not how accurate it is. The ticks under the line are all 113 rated outlets Tare reads.