United States Attorney General Todd Blanche has defended the Department of Justice’s decision to sue to prevent the certification of a Republican loss in Alaska’s tight Senate race.
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Blanche → defend → race
On Sunday, Blanche did a tour of the morning political shows in the US, making stops at CNN’s State of the Union TV programme and CBS’s Face the Nation.
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Blanche → do → Nation
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administration → mean → Alaska
Sullivan vs Dan Sullivan: Why is Trump’s DOJ suing in Alaska?
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DOJ → sue → Alaska
In each appearance, he faced pointed questions about the legality of the Justice Department’s efforts, responding, in some cases, with open frustration.
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he → face → frustration
“ Why is this controversial?” Blanche asked CNN host Dana Bash at one point.
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Blanche → ask → point
He proceeded to accuse one of the candidates in the Senate race of intentionally trying to confuse voters.
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He → proceed → voters
“We’re going to try to create a situation where that can be remedied,” he said.
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he → go → situation
“That shouldn’t be something that is causing this shock and horror.”
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that → cause → shock
But the Justice Department’s lawsuit, filed on October 22, has been the subject of bipartisan criticism.
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lawsuit → file → criticism
Many have accused President Donald Trump’s administration of laying the groundwork to block a Democratic win in the race.
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Many → accuse → race
Trump himself claimed to have authorised the lawsuit.
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Trump → claim → lawsuit
“I’m the one who said do it,” he told reporters on Friday.
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he → ’m → Friday
Inside the Alaska Senate race
During the November 3 midterm elections, citizens in Alaska will vote in one of the country’s closest Senate races, which will help decide whether Republicans maintain their majority in the chamber.
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Republicans → vote → chamber
Senator Dan S Sullivan, the Republican incumbent, is seeking to defend his seat in the US Senate.
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Sullivan → seek → Senate
But he faces fierce competition from former US Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat.
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he → face → Peltola
The second Sullivan’s decision to run has raised concerns that he is a spoiler candidate, whose presence on the ballot is designed to draw votes away from the incumbent.
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presence → run → incumbent
But the Forest Service worker has denied any such intent.
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worker → deny → intent
Such allegations, he said, are “entirely false”.
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he → say → ?
“I am not a registered Democrat, and I have had no conversations whatsoever with the Peltola campaign about my candidacy,” the second Sullivan wrote in a letter to Alaska’s lieutenant governor before the state’s primaries.
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Sullivan → register → primaries
“I have considered running for political office for over a decade.
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I → consider → decade
I made the decision to formally run for the United States Senate in the upcoming primary election because Senator Sullivan has routinely failed the people of Alaska, and they deserve a better representative.
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they → make → representative
It is my right to do so.”
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It → do → ?
Four candidates advanced to the final round of voting after Alaska’s August primaries.
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candidates → advance → primaries
They included Peltola and both Sullivans.
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They → include → Peltola
The two men are running as Republicans.
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men → run → Republicans
A controversial lawsuit
The Justice Department has argued that its lawsuit – filed less than two weeks before the midterm elections – is necessary “to protect the integrity” of the election.
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lawsuit → argue → election
Any result in the Senate race, it argues, would be “tainted by the inclusion on the ballot of Daniel J Sullivan”.
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it → argue → Sullivan
The department has therefore called on the US District Court in Alaska to issue an order declaring the race’s certification “unlawful” and barring the state from “allowing such a certification to occur”.
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certification → call → state
Under the US Constitution, only states have the power to administer elections, though Congress has the right to pass regulations concerning federal votes.
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Congress → have → votes
It is highly unusual for a presidential administration to inject itself into issues of state election certification, and experts say such a move is likely to be deemed illegal.
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move → inject → certification
Already in June, Alaska’s Supreme Court ruled that both Sullivans could compete in the Senate race.
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Sullivans → rule → race
The state’s Division of Elections has also taken steps to reduce voter confusion.
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Division → take → confusion
The November 3 ballot, for instance, will list Dan S Sullivan as the incumbent and as a “registered Republican”.
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ballot → list → Republican
Dan J Sullivan, meanwhile, will have the suffix “Jr” added to his name, and his party affiliation will be left blank, despite the candidate identifying as Republican.
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candidate → have → Republican
But in Sunday’s television appearances, Blanche, who leads the Department of Justice and formerly served as Trump’s personal lawyer, argued that merely having two Sullivans on the ballot is a recipe for confusion.
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having → lead → confusion
“It is wrong,” Blanche told CNN.
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Blanche → tell → CNN
“Putting aside whether we’re going to win or lose in the courts, putting aside what the Alaskan Supreme Court has done, in our system, we should not have a candidate who has to worry about another candidate being on the ballot for no other reason than to confuse voters.”
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candidate → put → voters
Blanche also denied any impropriety in Trump saying he ordered the lawsuit.
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he → deny → lawsuit
“He’s supposed to make sure that everything in this country is running right, including elections,” Blanche said.
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Blanche → suppose → elections
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
