阿拉斯加州安克雷奇——美国民众已经受够了高企的燃油价格。只要问问阿拉斯加州那些特朗普的支持者就知道了。
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Americans have had it with fuel prices. Just ask Trump voters in Alaska.
目前，全州汽油均价已突破每加仑5美元。9月份，柴油价格更是创下历史最高纪录。这样的经济状况让不少特朗普的支持者感到不满，同时也让民主党人看到了希望：前众议员玛丽·佩尔托拉有望在11月的大选中击败现任共和党参议员丹·沙利文。
The average cost of a gallon of gas is more than $5 statewide. Diesel prices hit their highest-ever recorded level in September. Those economic conditions are leaving some Trump voters in the state fed up and giving rise to an optimism among Democrats that former congresswoman Mary Peltola could unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in November.
资料来源：道琼斯旗下OPIS；图表：卡森·埃尔姆-皮卡德/MS NOW“日子真的很难过，就是这么简单。”41岁的安克雷奇安保人员卡尔文·米切尔说道。过去三次总统选举中，他都把票投给了唐纳德·特朗普。“日子真的很难过，就是这么简单。”——卡尔文·米切尔“我没法去外州看望女儿，买的食品也少了，除非是免费的，否则我们根本不会去搞什么娱乐活动。”48岁的法律助理盖尔·迈克尔斯on说道，她也曾三次投票给特朗普。
Source: OPIS, a Dow Jones company; Chart: Carson Elm-Picard / MS NOW“It’s hard out here. Simple,” said Calvin Mitchell, a 41-year-old security guard from Anchorage who voted for President Donald Trump in each of the past three presidential elections. It’s hard out here. Simple.”—Calvin Mitchell“I can’t go see my daughter out of state, and we’re not buying as many groceries, and we’re not really doing anything fun or entertainment unless it’s free,” said Gayle Michaelson, 48, a paralegal and three-time Trump voter.
如果见到总统，她会说什么呢？“我会告诉他，他当初对选民说的那些话都是废话——他说物价不该涨到这么高，可看看现在的情况吧。”
What would she tell the president? “I would tell him what he initially told the voters is BS — that these prices weren’t supposed to be so high — and look what’s happened.”
“他当初对选民说的那些话都是废话——他说物价不该涨到这么高，可看看现在的情况吧。”——盖尔·迈克尔斯on过去三次选举中，特朗普都在阿拉斯加州大获全胜：2016年以约15个百分点的优势击败希拉里·克林顿，2020年以约10个百分点的优势胜过乔·拜登，2024年也以约13个百分点的优势战胜副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯。
What he initially told the voters is BS — that these prices weren’t supposed to be so high — and look what’s happened.” —Gayle Michaelson Trump decisively won Alaska in the past three elections, beating Hillary Clinton by about 15 points in 2016, Joe Biden by about 10 points in 2020 and Vice President Kamala Harris by about 13 points in 2024.
然而，柴油价格的大幅上涨对阿拉斯加州民众的日常生活影响尤为显著，这也成为沙利文的席位面临民主党挑战者佩尔托拉威胁的重要因素。
But the skyrocketing cost of diesel fuel, which is disproportionately integral to the everyday lives of Alaskans, is among the factors that are putting Sullivan’s seat in danger from his Democratic challenger, Peltola.
“很多人都会选择视而不见，因为很多卡车司机，包括我自己，都是个体经营者……我们根本负担不起高昂的柴油费用，”曾三次投票给特朗普的卡车司机梅菲·塔加卢说道。与作为阿拉斯加州经济支柱的渔业一样，卡车运输行业也极易受到柴油价格波动的影响，而当前这一波动又是由伊朗战争引发的。
“A lot of people are going to look at the other way, because a lot of trucking, especially myself, truck drivers are owner-ops … they can’t afford the diesel,” said Meffy Tagalu, a trucker and three-time Trump voter. Like Alaska’s fishing industry, which is a cornerstone of the state’s economy, trucking is particularly susceptible to diesel price fluctuations, currently due to the war with Iran.
“我们必须退出那场战争，把物价都稳定下来。我们现在的处境实在艰难，”塔加卢说道，并将责任完全归咎于特朗普。“所有曾经投票给他的人”如今都开始背弃他了，塔加卢说。不过也并非所有人都是如此。
“We need to get out of that war and fix all the prices. You know, we’re hurting really bad,” Tagalu said, putting the blame squarely at Trump’s feet. “Everybody that voted for him” is starting to turn their backs on him, Tagalu said. Not everyone.
卡尔·克利夫兰是一名海军陆战队退伍军人，他曾三次投票给特朗普，过去也支持过沙利文。如今的局势让他对美国的政治体制感到失望。
Carl Cleveland is a Marine veteran who voted for Trump three times and has voted for Sullivan in the past. The way things are going has left him disillusioned with the American political system.
“所有人都对现行体制忍无可忍，”这位47岁的男子说道。“我们拼了命地工作，只为养家糊口、维持生计，可那些人去了华盛顿……到了那儿就把我们忘得一干二净。沙利文以前是这样，现在也如此。”
Everybody’s just fed up with the current system.” —Carl Cleveland“Everybody’s just fed up with the current system,” said the 47-year-old. “We work our ass off to keep food on the table with a roof over our heads, and these guys go to D.C. … They go down there and just forget about us, and that’s how Sullivan was, or is right now,” he said.
克利夫兰不愿透露自己会在中期选举中支持沙利文还是佩尔托拉，但他表示，最终做决定时“关键就看油价了，必须考虑这一点。”2020年，沙利文在连任选举中以超过12个百分点的优势击败了独立候选人阿尔·格罗斯。但在8月份的公开初选中，佩尔托拉以约8个百分点的优势胜过了沙利文，这一结果预示着阿拉斯加州民众或许会自2008年马克·贝吉奇当选以来，首次选出一名民主党人进入美国参议院。
Cleveland did not want to reveal whether he is supporting Sullivan or Peltola in the midterms, but he said that when it comes down to his decision, “It’s just the price at the pump. You got to look at that.”In 2020, Sullivan dominated his re-election bid, beating independent Al Gross by more than 12 points. But in August’s open primary, Peltola beat Sullivan by about 8 points, a signal that Alaskans may be primed to elect a Democrat to the U.S. Senate for the first time since Mark Begich in 2008.
尽管对总统深感不满，但许多曾投票给特朗普的选民仍表示自己不会改变对沙利文的支持。
Despite deep frustration with the president, many of these Trump voters said they are not swayed in their support from Sullivan.
“特朗普从来不做自己承诺过的事。他只会夸夸其谈，却几乎没有任何实际行动。”——杰森·麦克纳尔蒂“我最终还是会选择沙利文，因为佩尔托拉的过往履历并不能证明其能力，”曾三次投票给特朗普的杰森·麦克纳尔蒂说道。他表示自己“已经对特朗普彻底失望了”，并认为这位总统“从不履行承诺，只会说大话而毫无行动”。特朗普曾承诺要降低汽油价格，但他在阿拉斯加的支持者们对此并不买账。MS NOW
[Trump] doesn’t do anything he says. He’s a lot of rhetoric and very little action.”—Jason McNulty“I’m going to have to go with Sullivan just because Peltola’s record doesn’t prove out,” said Jason McNulty, a three-time Trump voter who said he is “done with Trump” and that the president “doesn’t do anything he says. He’s a lot of rhetoric and very little action.”The post Trump vowed to lower gas prices. His backers in Alaska are not buying it. MS NOW