Cornered Republican caught between Trump and exploding voter rage

Alaska is so Republican that a Democratic presidential candidate hasn't carried the state since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Yet Alaska's 2026 U.S. Senate race is surprisingly close, with polls showing centrist Democratic nominee Mary Peltola slightly head of incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). And according to New York Times reporter Lisa Lerer, Sullivan finds himself caught between President Donald Trump and voter anger over his unpopular tariffs.

"In Washington, Sen. Dan Sullivan has offered reliable support for President Trump's tariffs, even as they have roiled the economy and angered consumers," Lerer reports in the Times. "But back home in Alaska, as he campaigns for reelection, he has stayed largely silent on the issue. His calculation is similar to those of Republicans across the country, as they navigate between backing Mr. Trump and appealing to voters who give the president poor grades on his stewardship of the economy."

One of those frustrated voters, according to Lerer, is Sullivan's older brother, Frank Sullivan, CEO of the family's manufacturing business, RPM International.

Frank Sullivan, Lerer notes, is an outspoken critic of Trump's tariffs, saying that the "volatility" caused by Trump's trade policy is "frustrating a lot of folks."

"In Alaska," Lerer reports, "Democrats are trying to exploit anger around tariffs and rising prices, as they work to put in play a state that Mr. Trump won easily three times. Mr. Sullivan is running against former Rep. Mary Peltola, the Democratic nominee, in a race that polls say is close. Leaders of the state Democratic Party regularly assail Sen. Sullivan for his support of an economic policy that they've taken to calling 'Dan Sullivan's tariffs.' For his part, Mr. Sullivan has branded Ms. Peltola a 'lower 48 liberal.'"

Lerer continues, "Democrats believe the issue of tariffs has particular resonance in the state, which imports most of its consumer goods and food from out of state. Alaska has a close economic relationship with Canada, where Mr. Trump's new 50 percent tariffs on Canadian exports sparked a round of retaliatory tariffs."

Greg Wolf, president of the Alaska International Business Center, is among the many Alaska residents sounding the alarm about the effects that Trump's tariffs are having in the state.

Wolf told the Times, "It's certainly not cheaper to do business here or cheaper to be a consumer here than before the tariffs started. Things are more expensive now than before. Everyone knows that."