President Trump is spending Tuesday in Alaska, campaigning for Republican Senator Dan Sullivan as he fights for another six-year term. The polls show Sullivan in a dead heat with Mary Peltola, the former congresswoman running on the Democratic side. It’s a striking development in a state Trump carried by 13.5 points just two years ago, and it’s a sign that 2026 has been tougher for Republicans than the usual midterm math would suggest.
The two candidates are framing the race very differently. Sullivan points to his record and says that’s what elections come down to. Peltola is focused on affordability, which she says is the number one concern for Alaska voters. Both are courting independents who could decide the outcome, and both know the Senate majority may rest on this single seat.
For those of us on the Suncoast, the connection is more direct than it looks. Senate control shapes federal spending on hurricane recovery, water quality and red tide research, and the kinds of programs retirees rely on. A race four thousand miles away can still reach our shoreline. So what do you think: does a presidential campaign stop swing a tight Senate race, or do local issues win it?
