Alaska’s Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and U.S. Rep. Nick Begich reported large fundraising hauls earlier this month, even before any serious challengers have announced they would run against them in the 2026 elections.
Sullivan reported raising $1.4 million between April and June. Begich reported raising just over $800,000 in the same period. Much of their funding came from political action committees.
After expenses, Sullivan had $3.9 million in his campaign account at the beginning of the month, with 16 months to go until the 2026 election. Begich had $1.2 million in his account. Begich’s campaign continues to owe $425,000 to Begich from a personal loan he made to his campaign in 2022.
One Democrat has filed to run against Begich for Alaska’s U.S. House seat, John Williams of Fairbanks, but he reported no fundraising in July.
Even without other serious challengers in the Senate or House races, national groups aligned with the Democratic Party have begun running attack ads against Sullivan and Begich, who have aligned themselves with President Donald Trump and his agenda.
Sullivan has served in the U.S. Senate since 2014 and has filed to run for his third term in office. Begich, a freshman lawmaker, defeated Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola in 2024 after running unsuccessfully in 2022.
There has been some speculation that Peltola could run for office in 2026, including possibly against Sullivan, but she has not said whether she would run and for which office.
House Majority Forward, a progressive nonprofit, has run ads attacking Begich as part of a $10 million campaign targeting Republicans in what the organization views as swing districts.
More recently, Majority Forward has run ads targeting Sullivan after he voted in favor of Trump’s tax and spending bill. The group has also run ads in Iowa, Maine and North Carolina — where the committee views Senate races as winnable by Democrats.
The 907 Initiative, an Alaska progressive organization, recently launched an attack ad targeting Sullivan for his vote on the tax and spending bill.
The ads have caught Sullivan’s attention, and he addressed them on social media last month, accusing “far-left-wing affiliated Democrat groups” of running “blatantly false attacks ads” against him.
A spokesperson for Sullivan’s campaign said Sullivan has built “broad coalitions” for his past campaigns.
“He’s always wanted to build a big tent,” said spokesman Nate Adams. “Despite not having a candidate, the senator is not taking anything for granted.”
“We’re already laying the groundwork to build a grassroots operation and to make sure the senator is equipped regardless of who runs against him,” said Adams.
