Donald Trump apparently isn’t done trying to influence election results, even after Republicans suffered a crushing defeat in the midterms. With Alaska still counting ballots in a closely watched Senate race, the president has come up with an extraordinary demand: hand the votes cast for an independent candidate named Dan Sullivan to the Republican incumbent who happens to share the same name.
Yes, seriously.
Fuming over the so-called “double Dan Sullivan” situation, Trump took to Truth Social to argue that votes cast for the independent Dan Sullivan should immediately be transferred to Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. He also demanded that votes for another candidate he described as a Democratic “slug” be handed to the Republican incumbent.
“The vote totals for the Fake Dan Sullivan, plus the other ‘slug’ that the Dems put on the Ballot, should be immediately given to the REAL Dan Sullivan, and the Election is over – He easily wins. There is no other fair solution!” Trump declared.
The president’s demand comes as Republicans are dealing with the fallout from Tuesday’s midterm disaster. Democrats have taken control of both the House and Senate, leaving Trump facing a dramatically different political landscape for the remainder of his presidency. With his party losing power in Washington, even an unresolved Senate race in Alaska has become another source of frustration.
But Alaska isn’t the only state keeping the Senate results interesting. In Mississippi, where ballots are also still being counted, Democrat Scott Colom is making a late push against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. A potential Democratic victory would be another major surprise in a state that has long been considered safely Republican.
Meanwhile, the political fallout is reportedly creating tensions inside Trump’s own administration. Vice President JD Vance has privately expressed anger over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s role in the war with Iran, which has become a major political liability for Republicans. The conflict and its economic consequences were among the issues weighing on GOP candidates during the midterms.
So, while election officials in Alaska continue counting ballots, Trump is publicly demanding that votes for one candidate be reassigned to another simply because they share a name. After a disastrous election night, the president appears to be looking for victories wherever he can find them—even if that means making an extraordinary demand over the identity of a candidate.
