President Donald Trump held a short-notice Alaska telephone rally Sunday to get out the vote for Republicans U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young, both of whom are running for re-election in hotly-contested races.
The nine-minute call featured introductions from Sullivan, the incumbent U.S. senator, and Young, who’s served as Alaska’s sole Congressman for more nearly five decades.
Listen to a recording of the full rally
“You’ve been good to us, and we love you for it,” Young said.
In his remarks, Trump called Young and Sullivan “two very special people” and asked “every patriot in Alaska” to get out and vote for them.
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“They love Alaska. They love our country,” Trump said. “I hope you can get out and vote for them. Give them a big, big vote, because there’s nobody I trust, nobody I rely on more than these two men.”
He also blasted the two Democratic Party-endorsed independent candidates running for Congress: Al Gross, who’s challenging Sullivan, and Alyse Galvin, who’s running against Young.
“Al Gross and Galvin — I guess it’s Alyse, I don’t know her,” Trump said.
Not mentioned was Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, who’s not up for re-election until 2022 but has drawn Trump’s ire for sometimes objecting to his policies and behavior as president.
At the end of the call, participants were asked if they would make a $20 dollar campaign contribution. Sullivan’s campaign told a Republican political blog, Must Read Alaska, that thousands of people participated.
Nathaniel Herz is an Anchorage-based journalist. He's been a reporter in Alaska for a decade, and is currently reporting for Alaska Public Media. Find more of his work by subscribing to his newsletter, Northern Journal, at natherz.substack.com. Reach him at natherz@gmail.com.
