Trump said he ordered the suit over Alaska's Senate ballot.

WASHINGTON — President Trump said he ordered the Justice Department lawsuit over Alaska’s Senate ballot. “I’m the one that said do it,” he told reporters as he landed for a campaign rally in Florida, the Associated Press reported. The department filed late Thursday in federal court in Alaska. It asks that the state be blocked from certifying a win for Mary Peltola, the Democratic former congresswoman, if Daniel J. Sullivan of Petersburg remains on the ballot. The complaint says the United States brings the suit “to protect the integrity of the 2026 Senate election in Alaska,” and it seeks that block pending an investigation into whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant for the senator.

Republicans fear the second Sullivan will siphon votes from Senator Dan Sullivan in a race both parties expect to be close. Daniel J. Sullivan is listed with no party designation. The senator is listed as the Republican. The Alaska Supreme Court kept the Petersburg candidate on the ballot after a Republican effort to remove him. Ranked-choice voting lets a voter mark both men. In the August primary the senator received more than 68,000 votes. Daniel J. Sullivan received 4,107, about 2 percent. Peltola was the top vote-getter. The general election is Nov. 3. Nate Adams, a spokesman for the senator, told the AP, “We’ll let the DOJ complaint run its course,” and that Alaskans can tell the difference between “a Democrat sideshow and Senator Sullivan’s strong record of delivering for Alaska.” Devan Barber of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee called it a sham lawsuit to overturn the will of Alaska voters. The department called the other candidacy frivolous and cited the National Voter Registration Act. Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, told the AP, “The statute simply doesn’t let the Department of Justice enjoin certification.”

I'm the one that said do it.

The photograph is Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla, not Friday in Florida. Senator Dan Sullivan, in a blue jacket and a Marines cap, speaks at the microphone. President Trump, in a navy suit and a red tie, stands beside him. Both faces are in the frame. Alex Brandon of the Associated Press made it. Mary Peltola is not in it. Daniel J. Sullivan of Petersburg is not in it.