Trump rallies in Alaska for Sullivan in tight Senate race

President Donald Trump rallied in Wasilla, Alaska, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is seeking a third term in a Senate race that polls show is close, The Associated Press reported.

The visit is a sign of how competitive a state Republicans have held since 2008 has become: a New York Times/Siena University poll conducted Sept. 24 to Oct. 1 of 504 likely voters put Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, ahead of Sullivan 50 per cent to 43 per cent, with a margin of error of 5.1 percentage points, Newsweek reported.

Trump spoke at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla, about 45 miles north of Anchorage, the AP said. He called Sullivan “one of the best and most respected senators in D.C.” and urged supporters to vote for “the real Dan Sullivan.” That was a reference to a retired teacher of the same name who is also on the ballot and whom Trump and Sullivan allies call a sham candidate. The teacher denies that, the AP reported.

Other polls have shown a tighter race. Newsweek listed Quantus Insights, which surveyed 758 likely voters on Sept. 28 to 30 and found Sullivan at 46.1 per cent and Peltola at 45.5 per cent. It also listed an Alaska Survey Research poll of 1,352 likely voters on Sept. 10 to 12, with a margin of error of three points, that had Peltola ahead by five. Polls differ in method and timing, and none of them is a forecast.

Peltola, who is campaigning on the cost of living, wrote on X that her campaign was down two points in June in the same poll and is now up seven. In a statement last month, she said “Alaskans have had enough.” Sullivan’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment from The National News Desk.

Ivan Moore, an Alaska pollster, told the AP that Trump’s support has declined in the state, as it has nationally. “The visit is certainly appropriate,” Moore said. “Whether the visit will be effective or not is another matter.” He said the race may turn on 2024 Trump voters who are unsure whether they still back him. Vice-President JD Vance said at a Fairbanks rally the week before: “In very deep red years, Alaska is competitive. In very deep blue years, Alaska is still competitive.”

Trump said at the rally that Taiwan would buy gas from a proposed Alaska gas project and invest more than $4 billion US. The AP reported that Taiwan had not confirmed this and that the White House gave no further details. In the Oval Office, Trump announced a $54-billion US South Korean investment in the same project. South Korea says the deal and its total value are not final, the AP reported.

The trade war with Canada also hangs over the race. Alaska shares a long border with Canada and trades heavily with it. The AP reported that the United States has banned nearly $1 billion US in Canadian imports and that Canada responded with its own bans and levies. Moore called the dispute “discomforting” for many Alaskans, the AP said. We have not independently confirmed the import figure, which comes from the AP.

High gas prices linked to the Iran war and persistent inflation have hurt Trump’s approval ratings, the AP said. Our report on the latest U.S. consumer price data is here.

Trump’s western swing continues with rallies in Arizona and Montana on Wednesday, Oct. 14, the AP reported. Alaska’s general election uses ranked-choice voting after an open primary in which the top four candidates advance. Election Day is Nov. 3. This story is developing, and we will update it as new polls or official results are published.

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Via The Associated Press (published by WSLS, Oct. 13, 2026), Newsweek and The National News Desk. We did not review the New York Times/Siena poll release directly.