Blanche says Trump isn't trying to meddle with Alaska election results by suing over Senate race

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the Trump administration's lawsuit to block certification of Alaska's Senate results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses the race and argued that the legal challenge was a necessary step to avoid confusing voters in the closely watched midterm race.

President Donald Trump, who said Friday that he was "the one that said do it,” is not trying to overturn state election results “in any way, shape or form” on the cusp of the Nov. 3 election, Blanche told CNN's “State of the Union.”

“We wish that we didn’t have to do this. We hope for a resolution that works,” Blanche said.

Republicans fear that a second candidate on the ballot who is named Dan Sullivan — a retired teacher and school administrator from the tiny fishing community of Petersburg — could siphon away votes from the senator and tip the outcome in favor of Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman.

A day after the lawsuit was filed on Thursday, Peltola called it “just flagrant, flagrant corruption in my opinion” and a diversion tactic by Republicans. Alaska’s other Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, also criticized the lawsuit in a social media post.

Trump told reporters on Sunday that he believed the ballot was illegal because it was unfair and that Sen. Sullivan should be identified to voters as the sitting senator.

“At least let him use the name Sen. Dan Sullivan as opposed to incumbent, because a lot of people don’t know what incumbent means,” Trump said.

Alaskan voters will see “Dan S. Sullivan” identified as a “registered Republican” and “incumbent” on their ballots, while “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” will not have a party affiliation.

Blanche represented Trump as a personal attorney before the Republican president appointed him to lead the Department of Justice, which filed the lawsuit in Alaska. Blanche defended Trump in his election inference case before voters elected Trump to a second White House term, effectively ending the criminal prosecution.

Blanche told CNN host Dana Bash that it was “crazy” for her to ask him if Trump was trying to lay the groundwork for the same sort of election challenges that occurred before a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“We are not doing anything improper. We’re not doing anything we’re not allowed to do. And we have to let the process play out," Blanche said. "But I do think it’s important for the American people to understand that we are not — (and) President Trump is not — trying to take over a state election in any way shape or form.”

The lawsuit, he told CBS' “Face the Nation,” is meant to “put guardrails in place” to preserve possible evidence of voter confusion at the polls.

“It’s not saying, ‘Don’t certify.’ It’s saying, ‘If a court ultimately determines that it was decided because of confusion and not the will of the voters, then we do not think the states should certify.’ And that’s consistent with federal law and consistent with even Alaskan law, if that happens,” he said.

Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.

Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks at a roundtable event in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

In this photo shot with a smart phone, Democrat Mary Peltola smiles ahead of a debate with Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska's Senate race, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

This combination photo shows Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, left, in Palmer, Alaska, Aug. 17, 2026, and a candidate in Alaska's Senate race, Dan Sullivan, right, in Petersburg, Alaska, July 3, 2026. (AP Photos/Mark Thiessen/Becky Bohrer)

President Donald Trump walks past Attorney General Todd Blanche after speaking at a roundtable event in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

LONDON (AP) — The second of two storms to hit the U.K. this weekend brought widespread travel disruptions and power outages to Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England on Sunday.

The Met Office, the U.K.'s national forecaster, warned that Storm Boelo would bring a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves and said people should stay indoors as much as possible.

The agency said wind gusts peaked at 84 mph (135 kph) in Argyll and Bute in Scotland.

An amber wind warning, the Met Office’s second most severe, is active across Scotland and the north of England until late Sunday. Flood warnings are also in place, while airports, ferries, railways and roads have seen disruptions. Power outages have affected some 82,000 homes.

Boelo, pronounced “Boo-Loh”, has followed hard on the heels of Storm Austen, which battered southern England, in particular, on Friday.

The Met Office began naming major storms in 2015 as a way to keep the public informed about severe weather. Storms are named in alphabetical order throughout the season, from September to August.

As the storm moved eastward into continental Europe, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport warned travelers of cancellations and delays of flights to and from the busy aviation hub caused by strong winds that were battering the Netherlands.

Three crew members were injured Sunday afternoon on a freight ship that temporarily suffered engine problems north of the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog, the country's Coastguard maritime agency said. The island is about 190 kilometers (120 miles) north of the capital, Amsterdam.

Two of the injured sailors were winched off the ship, UHL Freedom, and taken by helicopter to a hospital on the mainland. The nature of their injuries was not immediately released. The freighter, with a crew of 25, was sailing with limited engine power Sunday evening. A Coastguard emergency tug was on standby near the ship, the agency said on its website.

High wind and rain also were expected through the day in Denmark, Norway and parts of Sweden. Some ferries in the region were canceled, train services were suspended on some Swedish lines as a precaution and some trailers were barred from Denmark’s Great Belt Bridge.

A car drives on the flooded A8 in Port Glasgow, Scotland, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, after Storm Boelo passed through the area. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

A road is closed by the Police on the A78 near Skelmorlie, Scotland, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, after Storm Boelo passed through the area. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)