Vice President JD Vance traveled to Alaska on Monday to rally support for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. Vance spoke in a hangar at Fairbanks International Airport to a crowd that also heard remarks from Rep. Nick Begich and Sen. Dan Sullivan.
On a night when Sullivan attacked his opponent Mary Peltola’s record on energy development, Vance announced a $400 million investment in Alaska’s energy grid, called the Alaska Rail Belt Transmission Project. Of this amount, $150 million would come from the federal government.
“The Trump administration will help develop more than 200 miles of new transmission lines,” Vance said, “reducing costs and strengthening grid reliability for 75 percent of this state’s population.”
According to an American report Press release from the Ministry of Energy earlier today, The project would build a new transmission line between Beluga and Healy, creating a second high-voltage link between Southcentral and Interior Alaska.
Sullivan moves from war in Iran to energy in Alaska
Midway through Vance’s speech, a protester in the crowd shouted that the war in Iran must end. He also referenced President Trump’s comments derogatory comments about women and a false rumor about JD Vance. The man was kicked out of the event by two staff members.
The war with Iran has shaken the global oil market for more than seven months, and the Alaskan oil market already high fuel prices put more emphasis on the cost of energy before the medium term.
Sullivan, who always voted against the end of the war, downplayed its importance.
“The Iranian conflict is temporary,” he said. “The real forever war is national Democrats over energy and jobs in Alaska.”
He extolled the virtues of the Trump administration resource extraction plans for Alaska, saying the proposed development of the Alaska LNG line would bring lower costs and more jobs to the state.
Rally speakers increase criticism of Peltola
Sullivan and Vance spent much of their time on stage attacking Sullivan’s Democratic opponent, Mary Peltola.
“If you don’t bother to vote for your own bill, then you don’t deserve to be a United States senator for the great people of Alaska,” Vance said, referring to Peltola’s “current” vote on a bill. Arctic Drilling Bill she presented during her term in the House of Representatives.
Sullivan and Vance accused her of dithering on energy development while in Congress and highlighted allegations of a recent article from the New York Times what exploded repeatedly on his stick.
“These are not just staff members, these are young Alaskans,” Sullivan said. “These are your sons and daughters who went to Washington and want to serve their country, and my opponent has mistreated them daily.”
Begich, who is also running for re-election, also attacked Peltola, but he did not mention his primary challenger, independent candidate Bill Hill.
“We weren’t too hot two years ago, with Joe Biden and my predecessor, Mary Peltola,” he said. “She didn’t get a single bill passed, she was asleep at the wheel. We don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past.”
The event also included remarks from Governor Mike Dunleavy and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
Trump plans Alaska visit as Senate race tightens
Recent polls show Sullivan and Peltola in a impasse. President Trump said he would is also campaigning in Alaska this month, although no date has been announced.
It’s unclear whether these visits will boost Republicans’ chances in November. Even if Trump won the state by 13 percentage points in 2024,recent survey showed that more than half of likely votersdisapprove of his work performance.
Staff at the October 5 rally prevented journalists from leaving a closed press area or speaking to participants without supervision.
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