By Jacob Bogage
FAIRBANKS, Alaska, Oct 5 (Reuters) - US Vice President JD Vance is set to rally in Alaska on Monday for Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican locked in a tight reelection campaign, as President Donald Trump's party tries to retain control of Congress in November's midterm elections.
Conservatives are looking to stem Democrats’ momentum headed into the vote with Trump and Vance embarking on nationwide campaign tours through Election Day on November 3. But many of those stops are coming
in deep conservative territory where Democrats are uncharacteristically competitive.
Alaska is one such locale. Sullivan, a two-term lawmaker, is well known in the state and a close Trump ally, and Alaskans voted for Trump in 2024 by a 13-point margin. Sullivan’s opponent, Democrat Mary Peltola, lost her reelection bid for the US House of Representatives in the same election cycle.
But voter dissatisfaction with cost-of-living issues — especially in Alaska, where costs are generally higher than in continental United States — has put the so-called Last Frontier in play. Peltola has tried to capitalize on the sentiment, running a campaign based on “Fish, Family and Freedom” that argues Sullivan is too beholden to Trump and “Lower 48ers.”
A New York Times poll that ran from September 24 to October 1 showed Peltola with a 7-point lead, though polling the heavily rural state is difficult.
“In very deep red years, Alaska is competitive. In very deep blue years, Alaska is still competitive,” Vance said Monday before taking off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. “So I think it's just a reality of the politics of the state.”
Trump and Vance have positioned the midterms as a referendum on their administration. Trump rallied with voters in Grand Island, Nebraska, earlier Monday to impart the message.
"When I am on the ballot, people show up and we always win. I am asking you to do me a favor and pretend I am on the ballot," Trump said. Trump has falsely claimed that his 2020 presidential election loss was due to widespread voter fraud.
Sullivan has countered that his focus on energy production in fossil-fuel-rich Alaska will lower consumer prices. In an Oval Office announcement last week, Trump made Sullivan the face of a $200 billion energy investment package in Alaska including a South Korea-backed pipeline, though Seoul quickly said the pipeline would only proceed if certain commercial and legal conditions were met.
On Monday, the Energy Department announced $150 million in funding for electrical transmission lines in the state that officials said will serve three-quarters of Alaska’s population of 735,000. The administration credited Sullivan with securing the resources.
Sullivan has also called for Trump to ban diesel exports as fuel costs continue to rise as war with Iran drags on, and Russia and Ukraine exchange strikes on energy infrastructure. Diesel costs averaged $6.60 per gallon in Alaska on Sunday, showed data from the American Automobile Association.
(Reporting by Jacob Bogage; Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Christopher Cushing)
