Breaking new reporting from the New York Times has revealed that Sullivan has “been rewarded for the company’s financial success” after RPM International – the multibillion-dollar chemicals company that represents Sullivan’s “biggest single financial holding” – raised costs on customers to respond to Sullivan’s tariffs.
Sullivan has repeatedly backed the tariffs that are inflicting financial pain in Alaska, “which imports most of its consumer goods and food [… and the] price increases from the tariffs have become increasingly difficult to dismiss.” In response to Sen. Sullivan’s tariffs, RPM “relocated manufacturing […] and raised prices” on consumers and “[paid] out nearly $350 million in cash dividends and stock buybacks, a 7.3 percent increase over the prior year” for shareholders – including Senator Sullivan.
New York Times: A Republican Senator Walks a Tricky Line on Tariffs as He Seeks Re-Election
By Lisa Lerer
September 14, 2026
In Washington, Senator Dan Sullivan has offered reliable support for President Trump’s tariffs, even as they have roiled the economy and angered consumers. But back home in Alaska, as he campaigns for re-election, he has stayed largely silent on the issue.
His brother, Frank Sullivan, has described the tariffs as a huge headache in earnings calls for the company, RPM International, which makes a number of well-known products including Rust-Oleum, Roto-Rooter and The Pink Stuff.
To navigate that uncertainty, the company has relocated manufacturing, restructured deals with importers and stockpiled some materials. And it has also raised prices.
The strategy — and the decision to pass along some costs to consumers — allowed the company to deliver its 52nd year of increased dividends to shareholders, a group that includes Senator Sullivan, who held as much as $5 million in company stock, according to his latest financial disclosure report.
RPM stock, which has produced a decades-long streak of record dividends, has been the senator’s biggest single financial holding since he entered the Senate in 2014.
The company’s success even amid tariff challenges offers a window into the economic crosscurrents shaping the 2026 midterm elections and the intense political pressure Mr. Trump’s tariffs are putting on Republican candidates, including Senator Sullivan. While the stock market is booming, returning double-digit gains to shareholders, many Americans are struggling to pay higher prices for groceries, gas and health care.
In Alaska, Democrats are trying to exploit anger around tariffs and rising prices, as they work to put in play a state that Mr. Trump won easily three times. Senator Sullivan is running against former Representative Mary Peltola, the Democratic nominee, in a race that polls say is close. Leaders of the state Democratic Party regularly assail Senator Sullivan for his support of an economic policy that they’ve taken to calling “Dan Sullivan’s tariffs.”
Democrats believe the issue of tariffs has particular resonance in the state, which imports most of its consumer goods and food from out of state. Alaska has a close economic relationship with Canada, where Mr. Trump’s new 50 percent tariffs on Canadian exports led to a round of retaliatory tariffs.
The price increases from the tariffs have become increasingly difficult to dismiss, said Greg Wolf, the president of the Alaska International Business Center, a trade organization in the state.
“It’s certainly not cheaper to do business here or cheaper to be a consumer here than before the tariffs started” said Mr. Wolf. “Things are more expensive now than before. Everyone knows that.”
Senator Sullivan has repeatedly opposed measures aimed at terminating tariffs on Canada, Brazil, and dozens of other trading partners, breaking with Senator Lisa Murkowski, Alaska’s senior Republican lawmaker, who has raised concerns about the “negative impacts in store for Alaskan families and businesses” from the policy.
Asked last month whether tariffs have benefited voters in his state, Senator Sullivan declined to address the policy, pivoting instead to his support for tax cuts and expanding domestic energy production.
His campaign declined to comment on his personal finances or share his views on the latest round of tariffs on Canada. Representatives from RPM did not respond to requests for comment.
The impacts of tariffs were woven through earnings calls over the remainder of that year. In April, Mr. Sullivan accused domestic suppliers of steel and steel products of “predatory” behavior, saying they were “taking advantage of the tariff situation to prematurely raise their prices.”
When asked by an analyst on the call, Mr. Sullivan acknowledged that the company initially struggled to raise prices fast enough to keep pace with the new tariffs.
“It would have been nice to raise prices earlier,” he said. “The challenge with this tariff regime is it’s on again, off again.”
Still, despite the challenges presented by the tariffs, shareholders of RPM — including Senator Sullivan — have been rewarded for the company’s financial success.
RPM stock, which has produced a decades-long streak of record dividends, has been the senator’s biggest single financial holding since he entered the Senate in 2014. Over the past eight years, he has sold as much as $800,000 in company stock, financial disclosures show, and his holdings have grown from as much as $1 million in 2014 to as much as $5 million in 2025.
The trades were “part of an ongoing long-term portfolio diversification strategy that regularly includes similar transactions,” according to his filings, and are managed by an outside financial investor.
In July, RPM reported paying out nearly $350 million in cash dividends and stock buybacks, a 7.3 percent increase over the prior year.
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