President Donald Trump on Wednesday vowed to come to Alaska before the November election to help boost the candidacy of Republican U.S. Sen. Dan S. Sullivan.

The incumbent senator is in a closely watched race with former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat. It's one of a few races across the country that could determine control of the Senate in the November midterm elections.

Sullivan lost the Aug. 18 primary by eight points to Peltola.

Trump said he'll visit Alaska within 30 days of the Nov. 3 election to campaign for Sullivan, but did not give any specific details about when he would visit or where he would be appearing.

In response to a question asking if Trump planned to travel to Alaska in support of Sullivan's reelection campaign, the president told reporters in the Oval Office that the race is tight because of the senator's namesake challenger.

Dan J. Sullivan, 69 and a retired teacher from Petersburg who is challenging the incumbent Sullivan as a Republican, earned just 2.5% of the Aug. 18 primary vote.

It was enough to put him in third place and get him on the November general election ballot along with Peltola, who received 49.5% of the vote, and Sullivan, who earned 41.4%.

Palmer Republican Gerald Heikes, who received 1.1%, will also appear on the ballot.

"I'll go out there to fight for him, just to show you how crooked the Democrats are," Trump said about his plans to support the incumbent senator, before criticizing both the state's ranked choice voting system and the Petersburg Sullivan. He endorsed the incumbent Sullivan last summer.

Alaska's ranked choice voting system allows the top four vote-getters in the race regardless of party affiliation to compete in the general election. Sixteen candidates ran for the U.S. Senate seat in the primary.

Trump said the "phony Dan Sullivan" is one reason the race is close, saying "2.5% is a lot when it comes to winning elections, and it's a disgrace."

"And he was put up by the Democrats, and they don't admit it, but it's been so proven," Trump said, though there has been no definitive link between the Petersburg Sullivan's campaign and the Democratic Party or Peltola's campaign. Peltola's campaign has stressed that it has no involvement with the Petersburg Sullivan's campaign.

"So I will go to Alaska to make sure that a great senator gets reelected," Trump said.

Republican groups and Sen. Dan Sullivan have alleged that the Petersburg Sullivan is a Democratic plant meant to help Peltola in the race.

After receiving complaints from the Alaska Republican Party and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Republican-led Alaska Division of Elections sought to keep the Petersburg Sullivan off the ballot, arguing that he sought to run to deceive Alaska voters — an allegation he denied.

But the Alaska Supreme Court in June allowed him to be listed on the primary ballot when it upheld a lower court judge's determination that he was eligible to run.

During his Oval Office remarks, Trump also criticized the Petersburg Sullivan's status as a first-time political candidate and claimed he "had never voted." Dan J. Sullivan pushed back on Trump's comments in a text message Wednesday evening, calling himself "a diligent voter" who always participates in primary, general and special elections.

He said in a statement Monday that he's staying in the race and hopes to amplify the message that the senator's "politics of division" have not fixed the "problems we face today in Alaska and as a nation."

The senator's campaign spokesman, Nate Adams, praised Trump in a statement Wednesday and said the senator will welcome him.

"On day one of his administration, President Trump signed an executive order unleashing Alaska's extraordinary resource potential, ending years of D.C.-imposed lockdowns on our lands, our energy, and our jobs, and green-lighting projects that are putting thousands of Alaskans to work," Adams said. "Senator Sullivan looks forward to welcoming the President, and continuing their work of delivering real results for Alaska."

A spokesperson with Peltola's campaign on Wednesday provided a single sentence in a prepared statement.

"Mary is an independent voice who will work with anyone to put Alaska first," the statement said.

This would be Trump's second time coming to Alaska to boost the candidates he endorsed.

In July 2022, he held a rally for U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka and U.S. House candidate and former Gov. Sarah Palin.

The two Republicans ultimately lost their respective races. Moderate Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski beat Tshibaka in that year's open primary and the ranked choice general election. Peltola beat Palin in the special election to replace the late Republican Rep. Don Young, and again in the regular election held that November.

At the rally, Trump also praised Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who was reelected that year.

In Alaska's 2024 U.S. House primary, Trump also endorsed Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom. Dahlstrom finished behind Peltola and Republican Nick Begich in the primary. She dropped out of the race before the general election, clearing the way for Begich to win and flip the state's lone House seat back to Republicans.

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