Gov. Mike Dunleavy said on a conservative podcast there’s a “outside chance” that Joe Biden will become the next president.
Dunleavy told Suzanne Downing and John Quick on The Must Read Alaska Podcast this week that accusations of voter fraud must be investigated, and that the courts need to determine if fraud has occurred.
“I’m just saying that I’m not there yet,” Dunleavy said. “But in the outside chance — and I’d like to word it that way — that there is a new administration, we will set up a relationship with that new administration and do the best we can to work with them.”
The governor noted that court cases related to the 2000 presidential election weren’t resolved until well into December of that year. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Bush v. Gore on Dec. 12, 2000, 20 years ago this Saturday.
“The people of America need to know that their vote counts, they really do,” he said. “And if there is any suspicion of fraud, which there is, that really needs to be looked into. That really needs to be investigated. That really needs to be determined by, I think, by the courts, that if it does exist, then that needs to be rectified. If it doesn’t exist, then that needs to be proven as well.”
Trump allies have filed dozens of lawsuits related to the election, many of which have already been ruled against in court and none of which have changed any state election results. The federal deadline for state disputes to be resolved has passed. According to those results, Biden won the popular vote by more than 7 million ballots, as well as the Electoral College, which went 306 for Biden to 232 for President Donald Trump.
Presidential electors are scheduled to vote on Monday, Dec. 14.
Dunleavy expressed concern that Biden’s administration might be opposed to developing Alaska’s natural resources.
“I would anticipate … that if there is a new administration, and they try to thwart us at every issue in creating revenue opportunities and job opportunities, that they’re going to have a fight on their hands,” he said.
Four Alaska House members and one representative-elect have called on Alaska Acting Attorney General Ed Sniffen to file a brief in support of a lawsuit by Texas challenging election results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Alaska didn’t join 17 other states in signing on to the brief in support of Texas.
In an emailed statement, a Department of Law spokesperson said a narrow timeline prevented Alaska from joining the suit.
“We agree with the State of Texas that the election integrity of all states and our country needs to be reviewed and assured,” the statement said. “The concept of one person, one vote, needs to be absolute because it is the foundation upon which our country is built. There are very important questions raised by this case that need to be answered quickly.”
The U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t ruled on whether federal courts will hear the Texas lawsuit.
Andrew Kitchenman is the state government and politics reporter for Alaska Public Media and KTOO in Juneau. Reach him at akitchenman@alaskapublic.org.
