News 104K views since yesterday

Mary Peltola calls Justice Department's Alaska Senate suit "a desperate attempt"

On MS NOW's Deadline: White House, the Democratic candidate tells Nicolle Wallace she trusts Alaska's election system to settle her race against Sen. Dan Sullivan.

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MS NOW Story of October 24, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of MS NOW's most watched videos since yesterday, with 103,768 views.

EXCLUSIVE: Dem Senate hopeful in KEY RACE speaks out as scared Trump tries to BLOCK potential win

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:00Wallace reports that Trump's Justice Department filed a preemptive suit to block certification if the Republican loses.
0:41Polling on screen shows Peltola at 49.7% and Sullivan at 47.6%.
1:46Peltola calls the suit desperate and a distraction from affordability and the war in Iran.
4:06Alaska's official ballot is shown; Peltola says there is little room for voter confusion.
7:27Asked about the courts and state officials, she says Alaska's elections are safe and secure.
11:13Rachel Maddow closes with a pitch for the channel's membership program.

A lawsuit filed before a single vote is counted is the subject of MS NOW's most watched new video, an exclusive interview that drew about 100,000 views in its first six hours.

According to the channel, Donald Trump's Justice Department has sued Alaska preemptively in an attempt to block the results of the state's Senate race if anyone other than the Republican candidate wins. The segment opens with a "breaking news" banner and a New York Times headline reporting that the department acted on Trump's order. MS NOW then shows polling that puts Democrat Mary Peltola narrowly ahead of the Republican incumbent, Sen. Dan Sullivan, with the general election set for November 3.

Peltola, a former congresswoman, joins Nicolle Wallace live. "You know, this is such a desperate attempt on Dan Sullivan's behalf, and it's such a distraction," she says. She argues the race should be about affordability, and says Sullivan voted 14 times for the war in Iran, which she blames for rising prices.

Wallace puts Alaska's official ballot on screen to show how the candidates appear. Peltola says even a voter who is not following the race closely would find little room for confusion. She also points to the high cost of campaigning in Alaska, now with possible litigation added to it.

Asked whether she has confidence in state authorities and the courts to uphold the result, Peltola says she does. "Alaska has very safe, very secure election systems," she says. "We've been running great elections for decades."

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