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IrelandCBS News legal analyst finds no precedent for the DOJ's Alaska certification suit
Jessica Levinson says the Justice Department faces "a huge uphill battle" in its bid to hold up Alaska's Senate result over two candidates named Sullivan.
CBS News
Story of Why this story? One of CBS News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 31,370 views.
Legal expert on DOJ lawsuit to block certification of Alaska Senate election if Republican loses
Things we can learn from the video
Press to jump
- 0:00The Trump administration sues to block Alaska's Senate certification if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses.
- 0:15Republicans argue a second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, could confuse voters.
- 0:27Trump says the lawsuit was his idea and calls Daniel J. Sullivan "the fake."
- 1:10Levinson explains the case relies on federal election-integrity law to intervene before results are certified.
- 1:53Presidential power over state election procedures: "very little," because states regulate their own elections.
- 2:51Levinson finds no precedent for a preemptive suit and says the DOJ faces a huge uphill battle.
The Justice Department wants a court to be able to stop Alaska from certifying its Senate election if the Republican incumbent, Sen. Dan Sullivan, loses. CBS News asked its legal analyst, Jessica Levinson, whether the case can work. Her short answer is that it faces long odds.
The lawsuit centers on a second candidate on the ballot, Daniel J. Sullivan. According to the report, the administration argues that two similar names could confuse voters and help Democrats. CBS plays a clip of President Trump confirming the suit was his idea: "I'm the one that said, 'Do it.'" In the same clip he calls Daniel J. Sullivan "the fake."
Levinson, an election-law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, explains the basis of the case. The administration is relying on federal election-integrity law to step in before the results are certified. Asked how much say a president has over a state's election procedures, she answers, "Honestly, very little." She says states run their own elections, and federal statutes let the Justice Department enforce them only under specific provisions.
She also looked for a court case like this one, a lawsuit filed before the votes are counted. "I did not find any precedent," she says.
The clip has drawn about 31,000 views since yesterday, more than any other new CBS News video. Its comment section filled about six times faster than the channel's usual first day. Much of the discussion is about how the ballot itself labels the two Sullivans.
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- Channel
- CBS News
- Subscribers
- 7,110,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 19,408,477
- Channel views, pace per day
- 2,514,712 (on a normal day: 2,798,763)
- Video published
- October 23, 2026
- Video views so far
- 57,689 (2 days online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 31,393
The numbers
A short legal explainer that became CBS News' most watched new video, with an unusually busy comment section.
💡 Test your knowledge
In which year did Alaska become a U.S. state?
Alaska was admitted as the 49th state on January 3, 1959.