Over $50 billion announced for Alaska LNG project key to Senate defense; commerce secretary names Ohio, other swing states for 8 large nuclear power plants; gas-fired power plant deal steered to increasingly competitive Texas

US President Donald Trump speaks at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday (local time), announcing an energy infrastructure project in Alaska. [Reuters]
US President Donald Trump speaks at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday (local time), announcing an energy infrastructure project in Alaska. [Reuters]

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Donald Trump unilaterally announced Wednesday (local time) South Korea's investment projects in the United States — including the Alaska LNG development project — and analysts are reading the move as a bid to win over voters in key battleground states ahead of the midterm elections. Trump felt compelled to present as a done deal a project the South Korean government had classified as subject to further negotiation, a sign of how precarious the political situation in Alaska has become.

Alaska has long been a Republican stronghold. In the 2024 presidential election, Trump won the state with 54.5 percent of the vote, easily defeating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, who received 41.4 percent. The state has backed Republican candidates in presidential and Senate races alike for decades.

Yet Alaska's Senate seat is now a genuine contest. Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan faces a strong challenge from Democratic candidate Mary Peltola, turning the state into one of the most closely watched battlegrounds in the November midterms. With Republicans anxious about potentially losing their Senate majority — on top of the House — holding Alaska has become a matter of urgency for Trump.

The Trump administration's announcement that South Korea would invest more than $50 billion in the Alaska LNG development project is widely seen as a boost for Sullivan's reelection bid.

The Alaska LNG project has long been a priority for the state but has struggled to get off the ground due to uncertain profitability. Sullivan has championed the project for years, and Trump's announcement is expected to help broaden his support base.

By the same token, Trump's announcement that $200 billion in South Korean investment would go toward building a gas-fired combined-cycle power plant and large nuclear power plants in Texas is seen as serving the same political purpose.

Texas, once a reliable Republican stronghold, has shifted beyond a toss-up in the Senate race and is now classified as leaning Democratic.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday that eight large nuclear power plants, backed by $120 billion in South Korean investment, would be built in Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina and Kentucky.

Ohio and South Carolina are also traditionally Republican states that have become competitive. Trump's calculation appears to be that by attracting massive South Korean investment to revitalize the US economy and create jobs, he can translate those gains into Republican votes in the midterms.

Neither Trump nor Lutnick mentioned that the Alaska LNG project and the large nuclear power plants still require further negotiations between the two countries.

Of late, Trump has been using major project announcements to shore up vulnerable Republican candidates.

A prime example came Monday, when Trump announced plans to build a large steel mill worth $15 billion in Iowa. The announcement centered on an investment deal with Mesabi Metallics, a subsidiary of an Indian conglomerate, to build what would be the largest steel mill in US history.

Iowa's Senate race mirrors the situation in Alaska. Trump won the state with 55.7 percent of the vote in the 2024 presidential election, and Republicans have swept every Senate race there over the past decade or so — but the contest is now a dead heat, with Democrats eyeing a pickup.


yckim6452@heraldcorp.com