President Donald Trump is planning to fly to Alaska next week for a rally intended to boost the re-election campaigns of U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich III. According to the Trump 47 Committee, an operation of the Republican National Committee and Trump’s Save America PAC, Trump will speak at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in Wasilla’s Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center.
The announcement had been expected; Vice President J.D. Vance visited Fairbanks on Monday, and two of Alaska’s three Republican governor candidates had said beforehand that they expected Trump to visit. It isn’t yet clear whether Trump will endorse any or all three of the Republicans seeking to replace Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
Polling indicates Democratic candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins is slightly ahead of Republicans Bernadette Wilson, Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor. Vance did not endorse any of the three during his visit to Alaska. Polls also show Sullivan is in a close race against Democratic challenger Mary Peltola, and Begich is leading independent challenger Bill Hill.
Trump’s visit would be the biggest event in a series of high-profile Republican rallies in Alaska ahead of Election Day. In addition to Vance and Trump, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is expected to headline a Republican fundraiser on Oct. 16 in Anchorage.
With Republican polling numbers slipping nationwide, Trump and Vance have been campaigning in traditionally Republican states, including Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Trump visited Anchorage in July 2022, two years after the end of his first term as President, in order to boost support for Republican candidates: Dunleavy, U.S. Sen. candidate Kelly Tshibaka and U.S. House candidate Sarah Palin. Tshibaka and Palin lost their elections; Dunleavy won.
More than 5,000 people attended that Anchorage event, which was held at the Alaska Airlines Center on a Saturday. The upcoming event will take place during working hours, at an arena with a capacity of about 3,500 people.
