By Jacob Bogage
FAIRBANKS, Alaska, Oct 5 (Reuters) - US Vice President JD Vance cast Alaska as Republicans' midterm election firewall in their bid to retain control of Congress as he rallied with voters on Monday for Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican locked in a tight reelection campaign.
Conservatives aim to stem Democrats’ momentum headed into the vote, with President Donald Trump and Vance embarking on nationwide campaign tours through Election Day on November 3.
But many of their stops are 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.
"The Democrats are obsessed with this state this cycle," Vance told a rally at Fairbanks International Airport.
"They see the Last Frontier as their last best hope to take America in a far left direction, to impeach Donald Trump, to turn off the energy project that we are building all across this state and to throttle this state and this country's incredible progress."
But voter dissatisfaction with cost-of-living issues — especially in Alaska, where costs are generally higher than in continental United States — has put the state 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 on 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.
He and other Republican figures have encouraged conservative voters to turn out even if they had concerns about the party's candidates. Trump has repeated the refrain, mostly about Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton.
“We are not just the firewall for Alaska. Alaska is the firewall for freedom for America right now,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan has said his focus on energy production in fossil-fuel-rich Alaska will lower consumer prices.
In the Oval Office last week, Trump made Sullivan the face of a $200-billion energy investment package in Alaska that includes a South Korea-backed pipeline.
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 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 urged Trump to ban diesel exports as fuel costs rise amid a lengthening war with Iran, while Russia and Ukraine exchange strikes on energy infrastructure.
Diesel costs averaged $6.60 per gallon in Alaska on Sunday, data from the American Automobile Association showed.
"The Iran conflict is temporary," Sullivan told the rally. "The true forever war is national Democrats’ war against Alaska energy and Alaska jobs."
(Reporting by Jacob Bogage; Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Christopher Cushing and Clarence Fernandez)
