Two days before Election Day, a senator was asked the question most candidates never hear: will you accept the result if you lose? Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) says he will accept the result of Alaska’s Senate race even if he loses. A federal lawsuit and a ballot-name fight have already put this contest on shaky ground.
Asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday whether he would honor the outcome only if he wins, Sullivan said no. “I’m going to accept the election results,” he told Jake Tapper, according to The Hill. In the same interview, however, he called Democrat Mary Peltola “not fit for office.”
Why the Alaska Senate race needs a pledge
Here’s the thing: reporters rarely ask most candidates this question. Sullivan got it because this race has a plot twist.
The trigger is a New York Times report, as described by CNN. It alleges that Democrats recruited a spoiler candidate with the same name as the incumbent to confuse voters. That candidate is Dan J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher. The senator, meanwhile, is Dan S. Sullivan. CNN reports Sullivan Jr. took 2.4% in the August primary.
Peltola has denied knowing about any such plan. She said she had “no idea” whether campaign staff were involved, according to a report relayed by The News. Even so, the allegation remains unproven, and we haven’t seen the Times story ourselves. Alaska’s Republican governor, per the same report, has ordered an investigation.
The DOJ lawsuit hanging over the Alaska Senate election
Then there’s the courtroom. The Justice Department has sued to block certification of the Alaska Senate race if Sullivan loses. Legal and election experts said the suit has no basis in court, The Hill reports.
On Saturday, Alaska’s Republican-led government asked a federal judge to dismiss it. In its filing, the state said officials “carefully designed the ballot to minimize voter confusion” and called the idea of physically separating ballots “both disturbing and impossible,” The Washington Post reports. So far, we could not find a hearing date.
It is also unclear whether Sullivan’s pledge covers recounts or legal challenges. Per a report relayed by The News, he said he is focused on winning rather than on lawsuits.
What the polls say about the Sullivan Peltola race
The race is tight. The Hill reports that Data for Progress, InsiderAdvantage and Alaska Survey Research each showed Peltola up 2 points. In addition, a NYT/Siena poll taken Sept. 24 to Oct. 1 had her up 7. A late Alaska Survey Research poll had her ahead 51% to 49% head-to-head.
An AARP poll, now about six weeks old, had first choices at Peltola 46, Sullivan 41, Sullivan Jr. 4 and Gerald Heikes 3. Several of those results sit within the margin of error. Senate Republican sources told The Hill they are confident Sullivan will win.
Still, nobody should call this contest from a poll, and the national Senate picture is still a toss-up even with the GOP trailing nationally.
What the Alaska Senate contest means for the wait
So when will we know? Possibly not on election night. Alaska is one of the slowest states to report, CNN’s live blog notes, and the Alaska Senate election uses ranked-choice voting after a top-four primary. We have not confirmed the exact date for the ranked-choice tabulation. The Alaska Division of Elections is the place to check.
If Peltola wins, The Hill reports a possible fight over seating her in the Senate, leaving Majority Leader John Thune and Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to negotiate. The paper compares it to the 1997 Landrieu case, where the Rules Committee voted unanimously to clear her of wrongdoing. Third-party names on the ballot can also swing close races, as our look at Senate spoiler candidates shows.
For voters, the practical takeaway is simple: a pledge to accept results is the baseline, not a favor.
If the count drags on, that pledge will matter far more than any poll.
