Crowds gathered in and around the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage on Saturday for a chance to see former President Donald Trump speak at a rally supporting Republican candidates for office. Trump is in Alaska to campaign and raise money for U.S. House candidate Sarah Palin and U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Chibaka, who is running against Republican incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Trump has also conditionally endorsed Gov. Mike Dunleavy — who is running for re-election — as long as Dunleavy does not support Murkowski. Dunleavy, who accepted Trump’s conditional endorsement last year, was nowhere to be seen Saturday and was not mentioned by other speakers at the rally. A spokesman for Dunleavy’s campaign said earlier this week that Dunleavy planned to meet with Trump on Saturday but did not plan to raise money before the rally. Rally goers started lining up early Saturday morning. Music, food trucks and vendors selling Trump merchandise lent the event the air of a festival rather than a political rally, and several attendees said they came to see Trump rather than support the Alaska candidates. By 3 p.m., an hour before Trump took the stage, nearly every seat in the arena was filled. The capacity of the arena is approximately 5,000. The rally drew prominent Republican state lawmakers — including House Minority Leader Cathy Tilton of Wasilla and Reps. Kevin McCabe of Big Lake and Sarah Vance of Homer — along with local officials such as Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and Anchorage Public Library deputy director Judy Norton Eledge . The doors opened at 11 a.m., but a line of people waiting to enter the arena was still wrapped around the building when Anchorage Equity Chief Uluao “Junior” Aumavae led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance just before 2 p.m. .m. People continued to pour into the building as Palin and Tshibaka took the stage. Both candidates wasted no time blasting their opponents. “I know the good old boys’ club and too many RINOs are part of it,” Palin said, referring to so-called Republicans by name only. She then called out her opponent in the U.S. House race, Nick Begich, another conservative Republican, who said he voted for former Anchorage Democratic mayoral candidate Ethan Berkowitz in 2015. Begich said he voted for both Trump 2016 as well as 2020. Democrat Mary Peltola is also on the special election ballot to fill the House seat, along with several others running in the August primary. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is running for the U.S. House, prepares for a Trump rally in support of the Republican candidates for office on Saturday, July 9, 2022, inside the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Bill Roth/ADN) Palin commanded loud cheers from the crowd, which chanted “hole, baby, drill!” — the phrase Palin repeated on Saturday dating back to 2008, when Palin was running for vice president. But among Alaska Republicans, there is no consensus on Palin. Conservative Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and state Rep. McCabe declined to say whether they would vote for Palin, although they said they would support Chibaka. Palin embraced her identity as an outsider to the party, drawing a connection between her experience and Trump and his supporters. “We’ve been mocked and mocked and falsely accused and told to sit down and shut up,” he said. “The things you’ve heard about me—they’re lies. I am much worse than what you have heard.’ Tshibaka, the former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Management who was appointed by Dunleavy, took 10 minutes on stage to draw a comparison between herself and incumbent Murkowski. Trump vowed to campaign against Murkowski after she was one of seven Republicans in the US Senate who voted to impeach him following the events of January 6, 2021. “This Senate seat is often the deciding vote that can affect the rest of the nation,” Tshibaka said. Murkowski is known for her willingness to toe the party line on key issues such as abortion access, judicial nominees and gun control. “It’s time for change,” Tshibaka repeated over and over. Murkowski was scheduled to meet with voters in Kenai and Soldotna on Saturday. Begich campaign spokesman Truman Reed said Begich held several campaign events in Anchorage on Saturday, including a visit to the South Anchorage Farmers Market. Both Palin and Tshibaka have repeatedly shot down claims about the results of the 2020 presidential election and have supported Trump despite mounting evidence that Trump knew his supporters were armed during the January 6 violent attack on the US Capitol and wanted to join them in the Capitol. In interviews before the rally, many of those in attendance dismissed evidence that has emerged in recent weeks that Trump knew his supporters were armed before the attack on Capitol Hill. Several also repeated false claims questioning the validity of the 2020 election. Before Palin and Tshibaka took the stage, Mike Lindell, a pillow company executive and prominent Trump supporter, addressed the crowd. He made the false claim that 20,000 votes were “stolen” from Trump in Alaska in the 2020 election. Trump won Alaska by 36,000 votes, but lost the national general election. Trump was expected to speak after 4 p.m. Inside the arena, “Trump 2024” shirts and recognizable red “Make America Great Again” hats were ubiquitous. A playlist of hits kept the atmosphere upbeat even as audience members waited hours for Trump to take the stage. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
