Election 2026 Alaska Lower 48
FILE - U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks at a get out the vote event held at farm in Palmer, Alaska, on Aug. 17, 2026.
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The most biting insult in Alaska politics is to be accused of being aligned with the “Lower 48." That's code for candidates taking marching orders from powerful forces in the contiguous United States rather than sticking up for Alaskans. It's being used heavily by the major campaigns in the U.S. Senate race. Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan lumps Democrat Mary Peltola in with “Lower 48 liberals” who've opposed expanded oil and gas drilling. Peltola says she'll take on "anyone in the Lower 48 who doesn’t understand what Alaska needs.” The pejorative label can be traced to Alaska's relative isolation and sometimes fraught relationship with the federal government over development of its natural resources.
President Donald Trump said South Korea plans to invest about $54 billion in a natural gas project in Alaska. He made the announcement in the Oval Office on Wednesday, flanked by Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, who faces a tough reelection race in the state. It was the second time this week that Trump has sought to elevate Senate candidates in states he won comfortably each time he ran for president. Trump made a similar announcement on Monday for a massive steel plant in Iowa. In Alaska, Sullivan faces a competitive challenge from Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman.
