President Donald Trump demanded on Thursday, November 5, 2026, that votes cast for two other candidates in Alaska's uncalled Senate race be handed to Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, declaring the contest over even though Democrat Mary Peltola leads by about 637 votes and roughly a quarter of ballots remain to be counted. The demand, posted on Truth Social, reverses his election-night statement that he would accept the results.

Key Points

• Trump wrote on Truth Social that votes for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and Gerald Heikes should "be immediately given to the REAL Dan Sullivan, and the Election is over — He easily wins. There is no other fair solution!"
• Democrat Mary Peltola leads Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan by about 637 votes, 102,962 (48.2%) to 102,325 (47.9%), with Sullivan Jr. on 3,600 (1.7%) and Heikes on 4,846 (2.27%).
• Alaska uses ranked-choice voting: if no candidate wins a majority, a ranked-choice tabulation is set for November 18, 2026, with certification on November 25.
• Trump wants all first-choice votes for the two minor candidates to go to Sullivan regardless of how those voters ranked the candidates.
• A Justice Department lawsuit to block certification if Sullivan lost was dismissed on November 1 by Judge Sharon Gleason for lack of standing; an appeal is pending.

What Happened

Trump's post landed on Thursday, two days after the November 3 midterm elections, with the Alaska Senate race still uncalled and counting continuing. He argued votes for the two men should simply be transferred to the incumbent senator.

Peltola leads by roughly 637 votes out of more than 213,000 ballots counted so far. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher from Petersburg who shares the senator's name, has 3,600 votes, while Heikes has 4,846. Moving all 8,446 to Sullivan would put him ahead by a wide margin. But Alaska adopted ranked-choice voting for federal elections: voters rank candidates in order of preference, and if no candidate wins more than half of first-choice votes, the lowest-placed candidate is eliminated and those ballots are redistributed by voters' next choices until one passes 50 percent. Those voters may have ranked Peltola or Heikes second, or no one at all.

Background and Context

The dispute over the two other names on the Alaska ballot did not begin on Thursday. Weeks before the election, The New York Times reported on what it called a "ballot composition project" to recruit a second Dan Sullivan. The report said operatives searched voter records in mid-2025 for men named Dan Sullivan and recruited Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. to stand. Trump seized on the report on October 28, demanding that both Peltola and the "FAKE Dan Sullivan" be removed from the ballot and alleging fraud and perjury. The Times did not establish Peltola directed the recruitment or that any perjury took place. Peltola and Sullivan Jr. have denied any coordination; Sullivan Jr. has said of the suggestion that he coordinated with Peltola's campaign: "Zero, none, zilch."

The Justice Department also sued to block certification if Sullivan lost. Judge Gleason dismissed it on November 1, ruling the department lacked standing. The department has appealed, and last week it confirmed a criminal investigation into the ballot-recruitment allegations. None of that changes the count, which continues under Alaska's election laws.

Trump Alaska Sullivan Votes: What the Demand Would Mean

If Trump's demand were followed, it would discard the ranked preferences of more than 8,000 Alaskan voters and award their ballots to a candidate they did not choose first. Election officials have no legal mechanism to do that: Alaska's ranked-choice law requires ballots to be counted as voters marked them. Heikes is not a Sullivan at all, and Sullivan Jr.'s voters picked a retired teacher from Petersburg, not the incumbent senator. Trump's post asks officials to short-circuit that process while counting is still under way.

Reactions

Trump's own words on Thursday were blunt. Writing on Truth Social, he said the votes for Sullivan Jr. and Heikes should "be immediately given to the REAL Dan Sullivan, and the Election is over — He easily wins. There is no other fair solution!" Peltola and Sullivan Jr. have denied any coordination, and legal experts quoted in earlier reporting have said ballot stacking is generally legal. No Alaska election official has indicated any willingness to reassign votes as Trump demanded, and the state's Division of Elections continues counting under the ranked-choice system voters approved.

Why It Matters

Alaska is one of the last uncalled Senate contests from the November 3 midterms, an election in which Democrats retook control of both chambers of Congress. With the Senate majority already decided, the Alaska seat will not change which party holds the chamber, but it will shape the size of the Democratic majority and the standing of a president disputing results since the midterms. More broadly, the demand tests a basic principle of American elections: ballots are counted as voters cast them. Reassigning votes from one candidate to another because of a shared name would be without precedent in a modern federal election

What Happens Next

Counting continues, with about a quarter of ballots still to be tallied. If neither Peltola nor Sullivan reaches a majority once all first-choice votes are counted, the ranked-choice tabulation on November 18 will eliminate the lowest-placed candidate and redistribute those ballots by voters' next preferences, repeating the process until a winner passes 50 percent. Certification is scheduled for November 25. Trump's demand carries no legal force over the count, and there is no indication Alaska officials intend to act on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Trump demand in Alaska?

On Thursday, November 5, 2026, Trump wrote on Truth Social that votes for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and Gerald Heikes should "be immediately given to the REAL Dan Sullivan, and the Election is over — He easily wins."

Who leads the Alaska Senate race?

Democrat Mary Peltola leads Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan by about 637 votes, 102,962 (48.2%) to 102,325 (47.9%), with about a quarter of ballots still to be counted.

How does Alaska's ranked-choice voting work?

Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest-placed candidate is eliminated and those ballots are redistributed by voters' next choices until someone passes 50 percent.

Can votes be transferred to Sullivan because of a shared name?

No. Alaska law requires ballots to be counted as voters marked them. Votes for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and Gerald Heikes cannot be reassigned to Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, and election officials have no mechanism to do so.

What happened to the Justice Department lawsuit over the Alaska race?

Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed it on November 1, 2026 for lack of standing; the department has appealed and confirmed a criminal investigation.

Related coverage: Mary Peltola Takes Slim 626-Vote Lead Over Dan Sullivan in Alaska Senate Race and Trump Demands Peltola Off Alaska Ballot in Fake Dan Sullivan Fraud Row. Sources: ANews, Juneau Independent, Newsmax, November 5, 2026.