 Shortly before the election the Alaska Republican Party attempted to have a court remove him from the ballot stating that it would confuse voters, however the assisstant attorney general stated that it was late for the Republicans to challenge his ballot access.On September 17, 1986 the Alaskan Republican Party filed a lawsuit to remove Metcalfe from the ballot and be barred from using "Republican" in his party name, but were rejected and Metcalfe was allowed to stay on the ballot.The Republicans attempted to appeal to the state supreme court, but the court refused to hear their case.