Vice President Vance to visit Fairbanks on Monday, Trump expected in Alaska later this month

US president and vice president are visiting states across the country to boost Republican candidates ahead of the November election

President Donald Trump prepares to speak in front of a crowd at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage on July 9, 2022. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

By James Brooks

Alaska Beacon

Vice President J.D. Vance will hold a campaign event on Monday in Fairbanks to boost Republican candidates in this year’s general election, and President Donald Trump is expected to visit Alaska later this month on a similar mission.

The vice-president’s visit was officially announced Friday by the Trump 47 Committee, an operation of the Republican National Committee and Trump’s Save America PAC.

The President’s visit has not yet been formally announced, but an official with Republican governor candidate Dave Bronson’s campaign said on Friday that they expect Trump to visit Alaska on Oct. 16 at a to-be-announced location and have been filling out paperwork before Bronson meets Trump in person.

Members of other campaigns either declined to confirm that date or said they believed a visit could happen on another date.

Trump and Vance have each been making campaign stops across the country in an attempt to boost Republican candidates ahead of the November election.

Vance visited Florida this week and was in Kansas last month on campaign stops. Trump was in Alabama on Friday and plans to be in Nebraska at the same time Vance is in Fairbanks. He’s also visited Texas and Oklahoma to boost Republican candidates there.

According to a preliminary schedule provided by the Trump 47 Committee, Vance is expected to land Monday afternoon at Fairbanks International Airport, where the rally will take place.

Doors open at 3 p.m., the event begins at 5 p.m. and Vance is expected to begin speaking at 6:20 p.m.

The Fairbanks weather forecast for Monday calls for a 20% chance of snow before 10 a.m., with a high of 43 degrees, dropping to 28 at night. 

Trump has repeatedly said he intends to visit Alaska, particularly to help the campaign of incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is in a close race against Democratic challenger Mary Peltola.

The Beacon has asked Sullivan’s campaign whether he will attend the Vance and Trump events but has not yet received a response.

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III said by text message that he will be in Fairbanks on Monday for the Vance event. 

Begich’s lead challenger is independent candidate Bill Hill, a former schools superintendent from Bristol Bay. 

The governor’s race includes Democratic candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and three Republicans — Bernadette Wilson, Bronson and Treg Taylor. Kreiss-Tomkins is currently favored in statewide polling.

Wilson said by text message that she will be in Fairbanks for the Vance event; she did not say whether she would attend the Trump event. Bronson’s campaign confirmed attendance at both.

Taylor’s campaign has not yet responded to questions about his attendance. 

Sullivan, Begich and incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy all appeared alongside the President in Washington, D.C. this week at an event about the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline.

Trump and administration officials said at the event that the nation of Korea was investing in the project, but that was a lie — Korea has only committed to reviews that could lead to an investment of some kind. Korean officials have since protested the administration’s statements at the event.

• James Brooks Cascade is a longtime Alaska reporter who lives in Juneau. He previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.