华盛顿州 — 距离选举日还有三周，总统唐纳德·特朗普乘坐直升机到飞机，再转乘直升机，随后改乘汽车队，抵达阿拉斯加马塔努斯卡-苏西特纳山谷的一个冰球场，历经超过八小时、行程近4000英里，旨在动员当地支持者，帮助共和党人捍卫参议院席位。
WASILLA, Alaska — Three weeks out from Election Day, President Donald Trump took a helicopter to a plane to another helicopter to a motorcade to an ice hockey rink in Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna Valley, traversing nearly 4,000 miles over more than eight hours to turn out his base here to help Republicans defend the Senate.
但特朗普的长途跋涉可能不足以挽救参议员丹·沙利文的连任前景，他在一场比预期更艰难的竞选中面对民主党候选人玛丽·佩尔托拉，而在该州，特朗普的支持率持续走低，且无党派选民人数超过共和党和民主党选民之和。
But Trump’s trek might not be enough to save Sen. Dan Sullivan, who’s running in a tougher-than-expected race against Democrat Mary Peltola in a state where the president’s approval rating is underwater and independents outnumber both Republicans and Democrats.
接受POLITICO采访的阿拉斯加策略师和选民承认，尽管特朗普投入了大量时间，且外部资金持续涌入，沙利文的连任之路依然充满挑战。
Alaska strategists and voters who spoke to POLITICO acknowledged that Sullivan faces a difficult path to reelection, despite Trump’s time investment and the outside money pouring in.
“非常保守的MAGA选手已经无法再更用力地为你投票了，”资深政治策略师斯科特·肯德尔说道。他曾参与两届阿拉斯加共和党参议员丽莎·穆尔科斯基的竞选活动，并曾担任前阿拉斯加州长比尔·沃克的幕僚长。“在当前形势下，唐纳德·特朗普的支持既是祝福也是诅咒。”即使是周二晚上集会上的一些特朗普支持者也承认，前景看来并不乐观。
“Very conservative MAGA voters can’t vote for you harder,” said Scott Kendall, a veteran political strategist who worked on two of Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s campaigns and was chief of staff to former Alaska Gov. Bill Walker. “Donald Trump’s support in this current climate is both a blessing and a curse.”Even some Trump supporters at the Tuesday night rally admitted the outlook appeared bleak.
“我觉得阿拉斯加正在转向蓝色，”来自瓦西拉的45岁总承包商马特·尼思辛克说道。他说自己曾三次投票支持特朗普，并计划今年继续支持共和党人。
“I think Alaska’s turning blue,” said Matt Niessink, a 45-year-old general contractor from Wasilla. He said he had voted for Trump three times and planned to support Republicans this year.
他希望总统做出什么不同的举动？“我希望他有时能闭上嘴，别这么自以为是，”尼思辛克说。
What did he wish the president would do differently? “I wish he’d shut his mouth sometimes and not be such a pompous ass,” Niessink said.
总统来到瓦西拉 — — 人口10,556人 — — 因为就在两年前他以13个百分点的优势赢得该州，如今该州对其政党的前景正在变得黯淡。在以汽油和杂货成本为特征的中期选举年，最后边疆州受到的冲击尤为严重，柴油平均价格已接近每加仑7美元。在参议院竞选中，佩尔托拉资金充裕，在大多数民意调查中领先于苏利文。财力雄厚、亲特朗普的超级政治行动委员会MAGA Inc.正日益将注意力转向阿拉斯加，将其视为一系列有助于共和党人保住参议院的州之一。
The president was in Wasilla — population 10,556 — because the outlook is darkening for his party in a state he carried by 13 points just two years ago. In a midterm year defined by the cost of gas and groceries, the Last Frontier has been hit particularly hard, with the average price of diesel nearing $7 per gallon. In the Senate race, Peltola is flush with cash and leads Sullivan in most polls. MAGA Inc., the cash-rich Trump-aligned super PAC, is increasingly focusing on Alaska as one in a slate of states that can help Republicans hold the Senate.
特朗普登场，他一直在关键的最后几周在红州举行集会，以提升其基本盘的支持率 — — 其基本盘在他不参选的年份往往投票率偏低。
Enter Trump, who has been spending the cycle’s crucial final weeks holding rallies in red states to juice support among his base, which tends to see depressed turnout in years when he’s not on the ballot.
“飞了很多次，”总统在开场白中说。“事实上，他们曾考虑取消。他们说，‘先生，您很忙，这很艰难。’”但特朗普继续说，他拒绝为一个他三次赢得的州取消行程。
“That was a lot of flying,” the president said at the top of his remarks. “In fact, they were thinking about canceling. They said, ‘Sir, you’re very busy, this is very tough.’”But, Trump continued, he refused to cancel for a state he won three times.
呼应他在其他红州集会上的言论，特朗普向欢呼的人群提出“一个大恩惠” — — “假装我在选票上，因为每次我在选票上，我们都会赢。”他重申了自己的承诺：如果共和党人保住两院，美国人将获得5000美元的股息。
Echoing his comments at other red-state rallies, Trump asked the roaring crowd for “one big favor” — to “pretend that I'm on the ballot, because every time I've been on the ballot, we win.”He repeated his promise that Americans will receive $5,000 dividends if Republicans hold both chambers.
“这一切的目的就是动员选民，”苏利文在特朗普演讲前对记者说。“热情的浪潮会提升所有候选人。”与一些在激烈竞争中的其他共和党候选人不同，苏利文一直在回避与特朗普总统任期内最不受欢迎的方面划清界限。
“What this is about is getting out the vote,” Sullivan told reporters before Trump’s speech. “A rising tide of enthusiasm lifts all the candidates.”Unlike some other Republican candidates in tight races, Sullivan has shied away from distancing himself from the least popular aspects of Trump’s presidency.
沙利文在集会现场宣称：“中东的冲突是暂时的。真正的永恒战争是全国民主党人对阿拉斯加石油和天然气以及我们就业的战争。”虽然一名竞选助手发表声明谴责特朗普进口俄罗斯柴油的举动，但沙利文并未加入包括穆尔科斯基在内的四位共和党参议员的行列，这些参议员曾呼吁特朗普撤销该决定。
Sullivan proclaimed on stage at the rally that “the conflict in the Middle East is temporary. The true forever war is the national Democrats’ war against Alaska oil and gas and our jobs.”And although a campaign aide released a statement condemning Trump’s move to import Russian diesel, Sullivan did not join four of his Republican Senate colleagues, including Murkowski, who called on Trump to reverse the decision.
阿拉斯加资深共和党策略师阿特·哈克尼表示：“支持沙利文的大多数人认为他应该”更多地与总统划清界限。
Art Hackney, a veteran Republican strategist in Alaska, said that “most of the people who support” Sullivan “think that he should” break more with the president.
哈克尼负责运营一个亲沙利文的超级政治行动委员会，名为“我们站在丹一边”（We Stand with Dan），他将这一选择归因于忠诚——但同时暗示，总统对忠诚的要求以及对经常持异议者穆尔科斯基的态度，也可能成为沙利文决策的一部分。
Hackney, who runs a pro-Sullivan super PAC called “We Stand with Dan,” attributed that choice to loyalty — but suggested the president’s demand of fealty, and treatment of frequent dissenter Murkowski, could also be part of Sullivan’s calculus.
“他的许多长期支持者以及那些将从中受益的行业人士希望他能更直率一些，”哈克尼说。“但考虑到穆尔科斯基所做的事情，如果丹做出被视为不敬触发点或类似事情的举动，你认为会发生什么？这可能会对影响阿拉斯加经济的事情产生深远影响。”如果您喜欢此内容，请考虑订阅《政治》杂志的Playbook PM新闻通讯。
“A lot of his longtime supporters and the people who are in the industries that would benefit from that wish he would be more blunt,” Hackney said. “But with what Murkowski has done, if Dan did something considered a disrespectful trigger or something, what do you think would happen? It could well have implications for things that affect Alaska's economy.”Like this content? Considerg up for POLITICO's Playbook PM newsletter.