Sanders Calls Alaska Ballot Gambit “Pretty Dumb”
Appearing on a national television network, Sanders responded to reports that Democrats persuaded retired schoolteacher Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. to enter the contest in order to siphon Republican votes and help Democratic candidate Mary Peltola against incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan.
The uproar led the Justice Department to sue Alaska, but US District Judge Sharon Gleason ruled Sunday that the department had no standing to pursue the case.
“Frankly, what the Democrats did in Alaska seems to me to be pretty dumb,” Sanders said. “But it is not illegal; this is what happens in every election.”
Brennan pointed to divided reactions among Republicans. Dan Sullivan has pledged to accept the election results, while Sen. Tim Sheehy claimed that “there was fraud perpetrated against the people of Alaska.”
Pressed on whether the episode weakens Democrats’ claim to defend election integrity, Sanders cited a report published Oct. 19 by a political news outlet. It alleged that a Republican-linked super PAC (political action committee) had bankrolled a socialist candidate.
Sanders also took aim at President Donald Trump’s push for federal involvement in election matters, noting that Trump never accepted his 2020 loss to former President Joe Biden.
“The federal government does not get involved in state elections, and when you have a president who in fact denied that he lost the election in 2020 against Biden, for him to be deciding what is a fair election or not is a little bit absurd. The people of Alaska can make that decision themselves,” Sanders said.
The senator further weighed in on Rep. Haley Stevens’ Sunday endorsement of Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, which came just two days before the midterm elections.
Even so, Sanders insisted Democrats can still win Michigan, a pivotal race in their bid to retake Senate control.
“Haley Stevens lost a very, very close primary. I can understand being upset about that,” Sanders said.
“This is the most important midterm election perhaps in the history of the United States, since we are taking on the most dangerous president that we have ever had, … so what the people of Michigan understand, sure, we have disagreements with Abdul on this or that issue, but from what I can see, all over the state, people are standing up, they’re going to stand with Abdul.”
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