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<\/p>\nApparently, voting for someone else still counts as voting Republican.<\/p>\n
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Donald Trump is declaring victory in an election that hasn\u2019t been decided\u2014and using his own version of election math to do it.<\/p>\n
In a remarkably bold Truth Social post<\/a> Saturday afternoon, the president, 80, insisted that Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan was \u201cleading substantially\u201d in Alaska\u2019s razor-thin Senate race\u2014even though Democrat Mary Peltola is ahead in the vote count<\/a>. <\/p>\n Trump\u2019s reasoning? Votes cast for two other candidates should simply be added to Sullivan\u2019s total.<\/p>\n \u201cDaniel Sullivan is leading substantially in the Alaska Senatorial Race. When you add Daniel (3,600, 1.68%) into Dan, and Gerald Heikes (4,846, 2.27%), Senator Dan Sullivan is up by thousands of Votes,\u201d Trump began. <\/p>\n Peltola leads with 48.17 percent of the vote, while (Trump\u2019s preferred) Sullivan trails by fewer than 700 votes, with 47.88 percent.<\/p>\n Donald Trump’s Truth Social post about the Alaskan Senate election.<\/p>\n Truth Social\/Donald Trump<\/p>\n Only 75 percent of ballots have been counted so far. Under Alaska\u2019s ranked-choice voting system, if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the lowest-ranked candidates are eliminated and their votes redistributed according to voters\u2019 next preferences.<\/p>\n Get the Best of the BeastSign Up for The Swamp Newsletter<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s math ignores that crucial distinction. Votes don\u2019t automatically transfer to whichever candidate the president believes should receive them, and some may not transfer to either major-party candidate at all.<\/p>\n The race may not be decided until Nov. 18, when Alaska is scheduled to conduct its ranked-choice vote tabulation.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not soon enough for Trump, who has been laser-focused on alleged \u201cvoter fraud\u201d in Alaska since before Election Day.<\/p>\n Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola participate in a debate in Anchorage, Alaska.<\/p>\n Another Dan Sullivan ran in both the primary and general elections, and his candidacy appears to have served as a spoiler. His candidacy faced repeated legal challenges, but courts and election officials consistently ruled that he could remain on the ballot. <\/p>\n Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. is currently in fourth place with just 1.68 percent of the vote, well behind Dan S. Sullivan, who was identified on the ballot as the Republican incumbent.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s post came just 24 hours after the president announced Stephen Miller\u2019s elevation to White House chief of staff. And Miller has already weighed in<\/a> on the Alaska race, describing it as \u201cone of the most egregious attacks we have seen on the integrity of American elections.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller, who was questioned by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack about his role in encouraging the \u201cStop the Steal\u201d movement, drafted part of the speech Trump delivered at the Ellipse before rioters stormed the Capitol.<\/p>\n Miller also argued on X<\/a> last month that the Sullivan-versus-Sullivan debacle \u201creveals pure contempt for voters\u201d and laid the blame on Democrats.<\/p>\n Stephen Miller’s post about Alaska on X.<\/p>\n Four days after Miller\u2019s post, The New York Times reported allegations<\/a> that Peltola\u2019s campaign may have coordinated with Daniel J. Sullivan to get him on the ballot.<\/p>\n Peltola\u2019s campaign has denied the allegation.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s Saturday post also claimed that the independent candidate, Heikes, was fraudulent, without providing evidence, and declared the race \u201cOVER.\u201d<\/p>\n President Donald Trump announced he was promoting Stephen Miller to White House chief of staff in a Truth Social post on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what takes so long to announce his win. This should be immediate! Anyone voting for Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr., a man who tried to change his middle initial, but was unable to get it done in time, and who was otherwise nonpolitical \u2013 Never even voted \u2013 is a vote for Senator Dan Sullivan. The Alaska Race is OVER. Dan Sullivan WON, BY A LOT!\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t Trump\u2019s first such demand this week as he licks his wounds following decisive Democratic victories in the midterms.<\/p>\n On Thursday, he threw a similar tantrum<\/a> on Truth Social, claiming that reallocating the independent candidate\u2019s votes to Sen. Sullivan was the only solution.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no other fair solution!\u201d he opined. <\/p>\n The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Unlock a year of full access to The Daily Beast for $35.<\/p>\n What’s IncludedUnlimited access (web + app)Exclusive ad-free newslettersCommenting accessDaily crosswordSneak peek of launches & events<\/p>\n Auto-renews at $5.99 monthly. Cancel anytime<\/p>\n What’s IncludedDiscounted annual rate – Save 47%Unlimited access (web + app)Exclusive ad-free newslettersCommenting accessDaily crosswordSneak peek of launches & events<\/p>\n Auto-renews at $59.99 yearly. 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