ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — It’s far from Washington, has a small population and hasn’t supported a Democrat in the Senate in nearly 20 years.
However, the president Donald Trump On Tuesday, he will devote much of his increasingly limited time to the crucial approach midterm elections travel all the way to Alaska — to try to bolster an incumbent Republican senator, another sign of GOP fears about retaining control of Congress after Election Day November 3.
Trump headlines rally for senator. Dan Sullivan in Wasilla, about 45 miles north of Anchorage – famous for being the hometown of the former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin and the home of the statewide Iditarod sled dog race.
Trump’s stop is part of a westward move that also takes him to rallies in Arizona and Montana on Wednesday.
“I’m going to Alaska right now to try to help Dan Sullivan. It’s far away,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for the trip Tuesday. “I would only do it if I thought he was good. And he’s very good. And so, I’m going to Alaska to help Dan Sullivan, and then I’m stopping at a lot of places.”
Democrats last won a Senate seat in Alaska in 2008, and the state has not elected a governor from that party since 1998. The only time Alaska did not vote Republican for president was during Lyndon B. Johnson’s landslide re-election in 1964.
Again high gas prices of the Iranian War and constantly high inflation damaged Trump’s approval ratings enough to leave Democrats dreaming of the upheavals in Alaska.
Trump and Vance repeatedly tried to boost Sullivan
Seeking a third term in the Senate, Sullivan faces the Democrat Marie Peltolaa former congresswoman who ran on putting Alaska first, with a focus on cost of living issues.
Alaska pollster Ivan Moore said he has seen a decline in support for Trump statewide that mirrors that of the president. decline in approval ratings nationwide — meaning the Senate race could be decided by 2024 Trump voters who aren’t sure they support him yet.
“The visit is certainly appropriate. Whether the visit is effective or not is another matter,” said Moore, who first said Trump would visit Alaska but did not believe it would actually happen.
The Trump administration has prioritized opening of more of Alaska to oil and gas drilling. vice-president J.D. Vance already campaigned in Fairbanks for Sullivan.
The senator also recently joined Trump in the Oval Office, where the president announced a A $54 billion investment by the South Korean government in a natural gas project in Alaska. This is even though South Korea says the deal and its full value have not been finalized.
Still, Trump traveling four time zones west to get to Sullivan’s turf — an unusually long trip so close to the midterms — is his strongest show of support.
Trump last campaigned in Alaska to try to defeat a fellow Republican
Alaska is home to approximately 740,000 people, making it slightly less populated than Denver. It ranks 48th out of 50 in population, smaller than every state except Vermont and Wyoming.
Trump nevertheless headlined a 2022 rally in Anchorage against Alaska’s Republican senator. Lisa Murkowski after voting to convict him of inciting insurrection during his second impeachment trialfollowing the attack on the US Capitol by a crowd of his supporters on January 6, 2021.
Trump supported Kelly Tshibaka, who challenged Murkowski that year, but that didn’t stop incumbent Murkowski from winning re-election.
This year there are two Dan Sullivans on the ballot
Trump complained about Alaska’s unique voting system. The state holds open primaries, in which the top four vote-getters — regardless of party affiliation — advance to the general election, which uses ranked-choice voting.
This has led to a scenario in which there will also be another Dan Sullivan on the Nov. 3 ballot: retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan, whom Trump and other allies of Sen. Sullivan have called a bogus candidate. Dan J. Sullivan denied this.
At his rally, Trump also plans to fight for Republican Representative Nick Begich. Begich faces a competitive challenge from Bill Hill, an independent.
Alaska has a history of rewarding applicants with an independent streak — something Vance acknowledged during his trip to Fairbanks last week. “In very deep red years, Alaska is competitive. In very deep blue years, Alaska is still competitive,” Vance said. “I think it’s just a political reality of the state.”
Independence has been hard to find within the Republican Party where Trump held out for years total control. Some Republicans facing tough elections have started tiptoeing away from Trump on key issues like Iran and tariffs, but not Sullivan, who clearly supported both.
In an article published last week, Trump questioned why three Republicans were running against a Democrat for governor. “How stupid are we to do this?” » he declared on social networks. This comes just as Republican Party leaders are urging voters to put Republicans on the ballot and leave Democrats blank.
“We want to be clear: We do not support ranked-choice voting. It is a confusing, cumbersome and costly voting system,” party leaders, including Republican Party Chair Carmela Warfield, said Saturday. “That said, ranked-choice voting is the system Alaska will use for the 2026 general election, and we need to work on it for this election to maintain Alaska’s recent momentum.”
Trump’s trade war with Canada could also be a factor
Trump also triggered a trade war with Canadawhich shares a border of more than 1,500 miles (2,450 kilometers) with Alaska and is among the state’s most important trading partners.
The United States has banned almost 1 billion dollars of imports from its northern neighbor – including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles – after imposing 50% tariffs on approximately $20 billion of Canadian goods. Canada has responded with reciprocal bans and its own levies on imports, and the back-and-forth could raise prices for Alaska consumers.
Casting Canada as some sort of enemy is “uncomfortable” for many Alaskans, pollster Moore said.
“We associate, I think, probably more closely with Canadians… more than most of the Lower 48,” he said.
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Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press reporter Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.
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