What to expect at Trump’s rallies in Nevada and Alaska

Former President Trump is headed to Nevada and Alaska this weekend to stump for more Republican candidates.

The two events are Trump’s most recent attempts to influence the party in this year’s midterm elections, but while his supported candidates are generally outspoken supporters of unproven claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, Trump’s appearances will appeal to different aims.

At an event in Las Vegas on Friday, Trump will seek to boost the general election bids of two nominees whom Trump endorsed in their crowded primaries, gubernatorial nominee Joe Lombardo and Senate nominee Adam Laxalt.

But the next day in Alaska, Trump will speak in advance of the state’s primary. Among the candidates Trump will stump for on Saturday is Kelly Tshibaka, who drew the former president’s support in her challenge to moderate Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) after Murkowski voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

The rallies come amid growing questions over Trump’s political clout. While the former president has scored some key victories with his endorsements — most notably in the Ohio and Pennsylvania Senate primaries — several of his endorsed candidates have suffered defeats. Perhaps most notably, Trump-backed David Perdue lost in his bid to oust Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) in May.

Trump’s visits will also occur in the wake of reports that he could soon announce another presidential bid. Sources have told The Hill that Trump is becoming more serious about launching a run in 2024, even as other high-profile Republicans, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, stoke speculation over their own White House ambitions.

Here’s what to expect at this weekend’s rallies in Nevada and Alaska.

Nevada

When Trump makes a stop blocks away from his hotel in Las Vegas at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino on Friday evening, he’ll join two candidates who prevailed after receiving boosts from the former president.

Now, Trump is hoping to leverage his influence again as Lombardo and Laxalt both face tough general election campaigns. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates both of their races as toss-ups.

Lombardo, who serves as Clark County sheriff, is challenging first-term Gov. Steve Sisolak (D). 

Laxalt, the state’s former attorney general who is running for the Senate, served as the co-chairman of Trump’s reelection campaign in Nevada and became a vocal supporter of Trump’s unproven claims of mass fraud in the 2020 election. 

Biden won Nevada in 2020 by about 33,600 votes, or 2.39 percentage points. 

As Lombardo and Laxalt look to reverse Democrats’ recent success in the state, they will participate in a joint panel to kick off Friday’s event at 5 p.m. local time. Trump will take the stage an hour later to deliver remarks.

Alaska

After a stopover in the Silver State, Trump will then head north to Alaska on Saturday to support three candidates on the ballot on Aug. 16.

Alaska’s elections this year are notable not only for the candidates, but also a new voting system.

Alaskans narrowly approved a ballot measure in 2020 that eliminated the party primary system. Instead, all candidates for a given race will appear on a singular primary ballot, and the top four will advance to the November general election regardless of party affiliation.

Trump on Saturday will weigh in personally on two primaries to be held under the new system.

He will speak in support of incumbent Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) as he faces several opponents, including Democrat Les Gara and independent former Gov. Bill Walker. 

Trump had endorsed Dunleavy in December on the condition that he would not endorse Murkowski in her reelection bid.

“With regard to the other issue, please tell the president he has nothing to worry about,” Dunleavy wrote in a note to Trump at the time, which Trump made public. “I appreciate all 45 has done for Alaska and this country.”

That united front against Murkowski is likely to be front and center on Saturday. Dunleavy and Trump will be joined at this weekend’s rally by former Alaska Commissioner of Administration Kelly Tshibaka, who received Trump’s backing as she looks to oust Murkowski.

Murkowski has been a strong critic of Trump, voting to convict the former president in his impeachment trial following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict, Murkowski is the only one who faces voters this year.

Trump has endorsed multiple challengers to Republicans who supported his second impeachment. Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) lost his primary last month to a Trump-backed candidate after voting to impeach the former president.

When Alaskans head to the polls in August for those primaries, however, they will also vote in a special election to replace the late Rep. Don Young (R), who passed away in March after occupying the state’s lone House seat for most of its existence.

Trump on Saturday will appear alongside former Gov. Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee who placed first in a June top-four primary with about 27 percent of the vote. She’ll face the three other top candidates again next month.

Voters will cast their ballots in the Aug. 16 special election under the state’s first ranked-choice voting election, which was also implemented as part of the ballot measure approved in 2020.

After her failed vice presidential bid, Palin had endorsed Trump in early 2016.

“Sarah Palin is tough and smart and will never back down, and I am proud to give her my complete and total endorsement, and encourage all Republicans to unite behind this wonderful person and her campaign to put America first,” Trump said in a statement in April. 

The former president will deliver remarks at 4 p.m. local time on Saturday at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage in support of Palin, Tshibaka and Dunleavy.