President Donald Trump is traveling to Alaska on Tuesday to campaign for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in a state he carried by 13 percentage points in 2024, an unusually costly use of presidential time that signals how widely the battle for Senate control has expanded.

The Wasilla rally is part of a western campaign swing that also includes Arizona and Montana. Trump campaigned in Ohio on Monday for Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who is locked in an expensive special election against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. All four states backed Trump in 2024, but Republicans now face competitive Senate contests in territory they expected to hold.

The trip reflects the arithmetic of a 53-47 Republican Senate. Democrats need to gain four seats for an outright majority, or three if they also win the vice presidency in the next cycle, but the immediate 2026 map gives them plausible targets in several Republican-held states. Reuters reported that Democratic candidates are competitive in Alaska, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina and Texas, while the party is also defending seats in Georgia and Michigan.

Why Alaska moved onto the battlefield

Alaska has not elected a Democratic senator since 2008, and its small population normally keeps it outside the center of national campaign travel. Trump’s decision to make the long trip to Wasilla shows that Republicans view Sullivan’s contest with former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola as more than a remote-state anomaly. AP described the visit as a measure of concern about retaining the chamber.

Peltola has a statewide political base from her tenure as Alaska’s lone House member and has made living costs central to her campaign. Sullivan, a two-term incumbent, is emphasizing energy development, defense and his work in Washington. The candidate list maintained by Alaska’s Division of Elections confirms both are on the general-election ballot, along with two other candidates.

The state’s election system adds uncertainty. Alaska advances four candidates from an open primary and uses ranked-choice voting in the general election. Voters rank candidates, and if no one wins a majority on the first count, the lowest finisher is eliminated and those ballots are reassigned until one candidate has more than half the vote. The state’s primary results showed Peltola with 49.5% and Sullivan with 41.4%, a result that demonstrated Democratic strength but did not predict how lower-ranked choices will transfer in November.

Two Sullivans and a ranking test

The ballot is further complicated by the presence of another candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher who is not the incumbent. Republicans have called him a decoy intended to confuse voters; Democrats deny responsibility. Whatever the origin, the duplicate name increases the premium on voter education in a system where candidates must build both first-choice support and enough broader acceptance to gain later-round preferences.

Trump has criticized ranked-choice voting, but his more immediate goal is straightforward: motivate infrequent Republican voters and make the incumbent’s identity unmistakable. A presidential rally can generate local coverage, volunteers and small-dollar contributions. It can also nationalize a race that Peltola would prefer to frame around Alaska-specific economic concerns.

Campaign finance data show why outside help matters. The FEC lists Sullivan as the Republican incumbent and shows substantial independent spending both supporting and opposing his candidacy. The commission separately lists Peltola as the Democratic challenger, while warning that newly filed summary data can lag by up to 48 hours. Reuters reported that Peltola had outraised Sullivan by about $7 million, though Sullivan held a roughly $2.7 million cash advantage; Republican outside groups had spent about $28 million to Democrats’ $21 million.

Ohio reveals the same strategic problem

Trump’s Ohio stop illustrates the broader pattern. He won the state comfortably in 2024, yet Husted and Brown are contesting one of the nation’s most expensive Senate races. Brown has a familiar statewide brand from three Senate terms, while Husted was appointed to the seat after JD Vance became vice president. The winner will serve the remainder of Vance’s term through January 2029.

According to Reuters, outside spending in Ohio has surpassed $200 million, with Republican groups accounting for about $143 million. Brown had raised $39 million through the end of June and Husted $14 million, although both sides are receiving extensive outside support. The president’s rallies are intended to supplement that spending with turnout among voters who support Trump but are less consistent in midterm elections.

The strategy carries risk. Trump can energize Republican voters, but he can also mobilize opponents and pull attention toward national controversies rather than local concerns. His Ohio appearance included renewed attacks on immigrants and campaign rhetoric that AP reported in detail, underscoring how the candidate he is helping does not control the message.

A defensive tour with national consequences

Presidential travel alone cannot establish that Republicans are losing Alaska or Ohio. Campaigns deploy prominent surrogates for many reasons, and public polls in small states can be sparse or volatile. Ranked-choice voting also makes Alaska harder to model than a conventional two-candidate race.

Still, the destination choices are evidence of strategic pressure. A president with limited days before a national election is spending time defending incumbents in states he won by wide margins, while Republican groups pour money into contests once considered secure. The immediate question is whether Trump can transfer his personal support to down-ballot candidates. The larger consequence will be measured in Senate control, which determines confirmation power, committee leadership and the administration’s ability to move legislation during the final two years of Trump’s term.