Trump went all the way to Alaska in a sign of just how close its Senate
race may be
[October 14, 2026]
By WILL WEISSERT and BECKY BOHRER
WASILLA, Alaska (AP) — It’s a long way from Washington, has a small
population and hasn't backed a Democrat for Senate in nearly 20 years.
Yet President Donald Trump on Tuesday devoted a big chunk of his
dwindling time ahead of crucial midterm elections to head to Alaska —
attempting to bolster a Republican incumbent senator in another sign of
GOP fears about retaining control of Congress after Election Day on Nov.
3.
Trump headlined a rally for Sen. Dan Sullivan in Wasilla, about 45 miles
(72 kilometers) north of Anchorage — famous for being the hometown of
former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and the
headquarters of the Iditarod sled dog race across the state.
Trump's stop is part of a western swing also taking him to rallies in
Arizona and Montana on Wednesday.
The president noted to the crowd that he had flown eight hours to rally
for Sullivan, whom he called “one of the best and most respected
senators in D.C.” Sullivan, seeking a third term, faces Democrat Mary
Peltola, a former congresswoman who is running to put “Alaska first” and
emphasizing cost-of-living issues.
During Tuesday's rally, Trump announced that Taiwan would purchase gas
from a proposed mega-gas project that he has been highlighting amid
Sullivan's campaign and that it would invest more than $4 billion. There
was no immediate confirmation from Taiwan, the self-governing island
that China claims as its own. The White House did not immediately
provide further details.
Trump also said the Federal Communications Commission would vote in the
coming weeks on investing an additional $162 million in expanding
high-speed internet access in Alaska. And he announced pardons for two
men who had pleaded guilty in 2022 to Clean Air Act violations for
tampering with federally mandated monitoring devices on certain
vehicles.
Trump and Vance have been trying to boost Sullivan repeatedly
Democrats last won a Senate seat in Alaska in 2008, and the state hasn’t
elected a governor from that party since 1998. The only time Alaska
didn’t vote Republican for president was during Lyndon B. Johnson’s
landslide 1964 reelection.
Yet high gasoline prices from the Iran war and persistently elevated
inflation have damaged Trump’s approval ratings enough to leave
Democrats dreaming of Alaska upsets.
Alaska pollster Ivan Moore said he's seen a decline in Trump's support
statewide that mirrors the president's falling approval ratings
nationally. That means the Senate race may be decided by Trump 2024
voters who are now unsure they still back him.
“The visit is certainly appropriate. Whether the visit will be effective
or not is another matter," said Moore, who said when he first heard that
Trump would visit Alaska, he didn't believe it would actually happen.
The Trump administration has prioritized expanding oil and gas drilling
in the state. Vice President JD Vance last week campaigned in Fairbanks
for Sullivan and Republican Rep. Nick Begich.
Sullivan recently joined Trump in the Oval Office, where the president
announced a $54 billion investment by South Korea's government into the
proposed Alaska gas project. That's despite South Korea saying the deal,
and its total value, haven't been finalized.
Versions of a gas project have been proposed in Alaska for decades.
Trump trekking four time zones west to get to Sullivan’s home turf — an
unusually long trip so close to the midterms — is his strongest show of
support for the incumbent.
Trump last campaigned in Alaska to try to defeat a fellow Republican
Alaska is home to around 740,000 people, making it slightly less
populous than Denver. It ranks 48th out of 50 states in population,
smaller than all but Vermont and Wyoming.
Trump nonetheless headlined a 2022 rally in Anchorage opposing
Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski after she voted to convict him on
a charge of incitement of insurrection during his second impeachment
trial, following the attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his
supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump endorsed Kelly Tshibaka, who challenged Murkowski that year, but
that didn't stop incumbent Murkowski from winning reelection.
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President Donald Trump listens as Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska,
speaks at a campaign rally at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports
Center, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Wasilla, Alaska. (AP Photo/Alex
Brandon)
In Wasilla, Max Christensen was waiting in line for the rally and
said he hoped to hear more specifics from Trump about the natural
gas project, and said he was “really curious just to see how he’s
going to handle things like inflation and gas prices and things like
that.”
Christensen, 22, said he thinks Trump has been a great president
“despite all his flaws and stuff," adding, “I think he really does
genuinely care about the people of the United States of America.”
This year, there are two Dan Sullivans on the ballot
Trump has complained about Alaska’s unique elections system. The
state has open primaries, in which the four top vote-getters —
regardless of party affiliation — advance to the general election,
which uses ranked choice voting.
That's led to a scenario where there also will be another Dan
Sullivan on the November ballot: retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan,
whom Trump and other allies of Sen. Sullivan have called a sham
candidate. Dan J. Sullivan has denied this, but Trump continued to
hammer the other Sullivan at his rally.
“They found a guy named Dan Sullivan, they put him up to get things
a little confused,” Trump said, as he repeatedly urged his
supporters to vote for “the real Dan Sullivan.”
Trump also touted Begich, who is facing a competitive challenge from
Bill Hill, an independent.
Alaska has a history of rewarding candidates 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 reality of the politics of the state.”
Independence has been hard to find in the Republican Party, where
Trump for years has had total control. Some Republicans facing tough
elections have begun tiptoeing away from the president on key issues
such as Iran and tariffs, but not Sullivan, who has been vocal in
supporting both.
Trump also questioned why three Republicans were running against a
Democrat for governor and endorsed Bernadette Wilson, who finished
third in the August primary but was the top vote-getting Republican.
This came at the same time state GOP leaders — including outgoing
Gov. Mike Dunleavy — are urging voters to rank Republicans on the
ballot.
Many Republicans — despite reservations with ranked voting — have
seen a ranking strategy in that race as crucial for Republicans
trying to win the seat.
Trump's trade war with Canada may also be a factor
Trump has also triggered a trade war with Canada, which shares a
1,500-plus-mile (2,450-kilometer) border with Alaska and is among
the state's most important trading partners.
The U.S. banned nearly $1 billion worth of imports from its neighbor
— including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles —
after previously imposing 50% tariffs on about $20 billion in
Canadian products. Canada has responded with reciprocal bans and its
own import levies, and the back-and-forth could raise prices for
Alaska consumers.
Making Canada an enemy of sorts is "discomforting" for many
Alaskans, said pollster Moore.
“We associate, I think, probably more closely with the Canadians —
more than a lot of the Lower 48," he said.
___
Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price and Seung Min Kim in
Washington and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this
report.
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