For a decade, President Donald Trump and his Republican party have enjoyed the steadfast support of Alaskans — so much so that the last time Trump campaigned in the state was July 2022. Four years later and three weeks from the midterms, Trump campaigned in Alaska on Tuesday to test how much sway he has left over voters, as Democrats eye a potential upset.
Trump’s rally in Wasilla comes at a time when polling indicates that Republicans are facing headwinds as the political landscape in the Last Frontier shifts, potentially favoring Democrats to win a Senate seat here for the first time in 12 years.
Democrat Mary Peltola currently has a 3-point lead over Trump-endorsed GOP incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is seeking his third term, according to MS NOW/Fifty Plus One polling. If Peltola can maintain that lead, it could clear a path for Democrats to flip the Senate — so long as Democrats can maintain the 47 seats they currently hold and flip four.
Trump lashed out at Peltola at Tuesday’s rally while accusing her of working with former President Joe Biden to undermine the state’s energy industry.
“I hear she’s a whack job, by the way,” Trump said. “Mary Peltola worked hand in hand with crooked Joe Biden to viciously crush Alaska energy,” he added, blaming the former administration’s policies for rising energy, food and transportation costs.
Last month, Trump was joined by Sullivan in the Oval Office to announce that South Korea would invest $54 billion in a natural gas project in Alaska. After the announcement, however, a top South Korean official said the country’s participation “had not been finalized.” The 807-mile pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope to a natural gas terminal in the southern part of the state has received bipartisan support, including from Peltola.
The president touted the proposed pipeline, claiming the project would create thousands of jobs and significantly lower energy costs for residents.
“The gigantic project that we just created for Alaska will create over 13,000 jobs for you and save the typical Alaska household more than $2,000 a year on your energy bills,” Trump said.
The cost of living and elevated fuel prices, driven up by the war with Iran, have become key issues for voters across the nation this year.
But Trump on Tuesday still sought to deflect criticism over rising prices, blaming Democrats for the affordability concerns that have become a central issue in the midterm elections.
“They caused the highest prices in history, and then they start screaming affordability,” Trump said. “They caused the problem, so they caused the problem. But we have reduced it very substantially.”
In Alaska gas prices have hit an average of $5.02, compared with $3.87 one year ago, and there are mounting concerns from industry leaders about a potential energy crisis.
One of those leaders is John Sims, president of Enstar Natural Gas, the largest utility in Alaska, serving about two-thirds of the state’s population. Sims says Enstar recently sent letters to its largest consumers of natural gas, roughly 60 commercial customers, warning them that it may not have enough supply this winter when demand increases.
“A lot of them have done a lot of things to conserve on an annual basis,” Sims said about the customers receiving those letters. “That’s tough for them to swallow, you know, the potential of being disconnected from gas service.” Sims said the potential gap is largely driven by temperature: As it gets colder, the demand for gas increases.
“At certain temperatures we’re fine and there’s not an issue. But that can change in Alaska on a moment’s notice,” Sims said. “The impact to these folks’ business is significant, especially, you know, for those that are reliant on heat on a day-to-day basis, which most of them are. So yeah, it’s a very hard conversation, but it’s a very real one, an important one to have, so that they can prepare as much as possible for what’s hopefully an unlikely event. But it is a possible event.”
All of Enstar’s gas comes from the energy-rich Cook Inlet, but Sims said that supply is dwindling and production challenges are increasing. That has led Enstar to increase customers’ rates as they explore long-term options for gas supply.
Sims explained that Alaska has ample resources and that it is critical to have the appropriate policies in place to maximize production.
“We don’t want to be reliant on anyone else. We want to be able to do it ourselves,” Sims said. “We have everything we need. We just need a good plan in place so that we can actually take advantage of it.”
Ultimately, according to Sims, the responsibility of the utility is to make sure its customers have heat this winter.
“The utility has an obligation to serve customers, and so that’s why we’re working 24/7 to make sure that that isn’t the case, and that we can be there when they turn up the thermostat,” he said, referring to the possibility that customers might not have heat.
With a consequential Senate race at stake, Republicans are launching a full-court press to mobilize their base, leaning on both the president and the vice president. JD Vance rallied for Sullivan last week in Fairbanks, where he urged supporters not to vote for Peltola and claimed that she was never interested in serving the state, and instead liked “the perks of being a politician.”
Polls close in Alaska at 1 a.m. ET on Election Day, later than anywhere else in the country, meaning that the state could quite literally be the deciding factor in which party gains control over the U.S. Senate.
The post Trump campaigns in Alaska, where a new warning underscores the state’s energy challenges appeared first on MS NOW.
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