Speaker Johnson accuses Democrats of staging electoral maneuvers in Alaska against Senator Dan Sullivan

The speaker of the US House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, said this week that an alleged Democratic scheme in Alaska is an attempt to deceive voters in the Senate race. According to him, the Department of Justice is investigating the case. The statement was made to the program "Fox & Friends", according to the transcript of the video shown by Fox Business.

The case revolves around a report that, according to the channel, accuses Alaska Democrats of recruiting another candidate with the same name as Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, to confuse voters who find both names on the ballot. The senator reacted by saying that the episode shows that Democrats "will do anything to gain power." The allegations are attributed to the report and Republicans; the transcript does not detail evidence.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) denied involvement. In a note read by the presenter, the organization stated that it was not linked to Dan J. Sullivan and accused Republicans of having a long history of recruiting and financing candidates to boost their own campaigns, citing examples such as that of a prisoner with an address in New York who ran against Mary Peltola and the spending of almost half a million dollars to guarantee a place on the Alaska ballot for a resident of Arizona. The transcript does not allow us to verify these claims.

Investigation and questions about the ballot

Johnson said the Department of Justice is investigating the case and that the governor of Alaska announced the same morning an analysis under state law to see what may have been violated. According to the President of the Chamber, even the New York Times newspaper classified the situation as ridiculous, which, in his opinion, shows that the practice needs to be contained.

Asked by the host what to do now that the ballots are printed, Johnson responded that "we'll see" and criticized the ranked choice voting used in Alaska, which he said is another unfair tactic. There was no concrete explanation about how the votes would be handled.

In the opinion of the President of the Chamber, the Democrats are unable to win based on their proposals and are resorting to tricks. He said he believes Sullivan will win the race and that Alaska voters will know how to make the right choice when they have access to the facts.

Scenario for the House and Senate

Johnson said he was optimistic about maintaining the Republican's slim majority in the House, despite polls suggesting otherwise. According to him, he campaigned in more than 40 districts in 22 states this month and sees crowds and enthusiasm similar to those in 2024. For the president of the Chamber, the polls will be “historically wrong”.

He defended the Republican record, saying the party had cut costs, passed what he called the biggest tax cut in U.S. history and made streets safer. These numbers and statements are Johnson's own and have not been checked in the transcript.

The president of the House also attacked a group of more left-wing Democrats, called "Bloc", who, according to the presenter, intends to interfere in Hakeem Jeffries' race to become president of the House if the party wins. Johnson said the party is being taken over by the insurgent left and that Republicans will win.

For investors, the episode reinforces that Congress's control in the mid-term legislative elections remains in dispute. The definition of who commands the House and the Senate weighs on the US tax and fiscal agenda, with potential repercussions on interest rates, the dollar and stock markets, although the transcript does not provide market projections.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.