Trump heads to Wasilla to rescue Dan Sullivan in a tight Alaska Senate race

President Donald Trump is flying to Wasilla, Alaska, on Tuesday to rally for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, a long trip three weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms that shows how worried Republicans are about a seat they once counted as safe.

A tight race in a red state

Sullivan is in a close fight with Democrat Mary Peltola, the former congresswoman who won statewide House races in 2022. A recent independent Alaska poll put Peltola two points ahead both on first choices and after the state's ranked choice count. The pollster said the contest has stayed consistently close with Peltola in front each time.

Alaska is one of seven Senate races now rated a toss-up. Democrats would need to win four of those and protect their other seats to take control of the chamber. Republicans see Sullivan as a firewall. A party spokesman said the rally would show why the senator is needed to defend the state's future from what he called the Lower 48 left.

Second White House visit in about a week

Vice President JD Vance campaigned for Sullivan in Fairbanks last week. Trump's stop is set for the Menard Sports Center, where doors open at noon local time and he is expected to speak around 3:30 p.m. The arena holds about 3,000 people for hockey or 3,500 for concerts, small by the standards of a presidential rally.

Wasilla sits in the Mat-Su Valley about 45 miles north of Anchorage. It is one of the most Republican corners of the state. Sullivan carried the area by wide margins in the August open primary even though he finished 8 points behind Peltola statewide.

A first for the town

City leaders say no sitting president has ever given a speech in Wasilla. Warren G. Harding passed through on the Alaska Railroad in 1923 and John F. Kennedy campaigned at the state fair in nearby Palmer in 1960. Trump's only earlier Alaska rally came in Anchorage in 2022, between his two terms, when the candidates he backed for Senate and House both lost.

Local officials expect a boost for gas stations, cafes and shops along with traffic headaches. Police and state troopers planned road closures near the arena from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and warned of delays of up to 30 minutes on the Glenn and Parks highways. Flight restrictions also cover Anchorage and the Wasilla area. Trump is expected to arrive by helicopter.

Cheers and a protest

Some residents called the visit a once in a lifetime chance to see a president. Others were wary of the crowds and the division he stirs. Local progressive groups planned a protest with live music and hot drinks at Newcomb Park near Wasilla Lake during the afternoon.