New reporting from the Wall Street Journal reveals that Dan Sullivan’s continued support for the price-hiking war in Iran and the energy crisis it caused has “led to some of the highest fuel prices in the nation,” especially for rural Alaskans whose votes could be “decisive” in November.

Sullivan’s price-hikes have caused irreparable long-term pain for Alaskans who rely on fuel delivered by barge, which was priced when tankers were filled in May. Since some villages only get one or two fuel deliveries a year, rural communities “had no choice this year but to place their orders in the spring, just as the Iran war sent prices soaring.”

“Because of Dan Sullivan’s price-hikes, rural Alaskans are going to be forced to choose between buying food and buying fuel this winter,” said Alaska Democratic Party Chair Eric Croft. “Sullivan has provided no relief amid this crisis – defending his votes to continue the war – and it’s clear he has no problem leaving Alaskans to foot the bill.”

Alaska leaders have already warned of an “energy crisis of extraordinary and unprecedented scale” in rural Alaska — a “life and death” situation driven by Dan Sullivan’s cost of living crisis that has led to record high fuel prices, with some parts of the state paying a third more per gallon of gas than they were last summer. Dan Sullivan has written off the impacts of his affordability crisis as “externalities”, and has even sent a shameless fundraising email asking his own constituents for gas money.  

Wall Street Journal: The Iran War Has Oil-Rich Alaska Freaked Out About $9 Gas

Benoît Morenne

July 6, 2026

• John Stelling had just cranked the digits of his fuel pump to $9.10 at his gas station in this remote Alaskan community when he realized he had a problem.

• Could he push the meter to $10 if he had to? “Not sure if it’ll handle those,” he said of double-digit fuel prices.

• In rural Alaska, the war with Iran has led to some of the highest fuel prices in the nation.

• Remote towns and villages aren’t connected to the road system, so they pay hefty premiums to procure gasoline, heating oil and diesel for cranking out electricity.

• Fuel typically arrives by barge in the summer, when ice clears from waterways. The last barge to unload sets the price until the next delivery—months away. Many communities had no choice this year but to place their orders in the spring, just as the Iran war sent prices soaring.

• That means that even if the U.S. and Iran reach a peace deal and the Strait of Hormuz reopens permanently, rural Alaskans will be stuck with exorbitant energy prices long after they have come down for the rest of the country.

• “In many ways, the oil-and-gas development hasn’t really got filtered down to the people who really need to be seeing the savings from it the most,” said Tom Atkinson, the recently retired chief executive of the electric utility in the rural city of Kotzebue.

• Voters in rural communities are turning more sour on the war with Iran, creating a divide in the deep-red state that could have national implications.

• The votes of rural communities could be decisive in a key Senate race between former Democratic U.S. representative Mary Peltola and incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan that political observers expect will be tight. 

• Remote villages pay for the fuel—then another $1 to $2 a gallon to have it transported by tanker, loaded on a barge, transferred to a tugboat that can navigate a narrow river and for much of the year, the community’s waterways are frozen, making the summer fuel shipments critical.

• In Dillingham, a coastal city in Western Alaska, barges have started coming in, and with them, higher fuel prices. The area is home to three gas stations, including Stelling’s, all of which sell gasoline at about $9 a gallon. Heating oil sells for about the same, and diesel for slightly more.

• Jack Savo Jr., the city manager, said the recent breakthrough in talks between the U.S. and Iran, and the prospect of Hormuz reopening, provides little comfort. Dillingham estimates it will need to spend an additional $166,015 in the 2027 fiscal year to heat buildings and fuel vehicles. It will reduce overtime and suspend some merit raises, among other cost-cutting measures.

• “Our prices do not react immediately to market changes and things happening in the world,” Savo said. 

• The coastal city of Dillingham is home to three gas stations, including Stelling’s, all of which sell gasoline at about $9 a gallon. 

• Anuska Tilden, 67 , was working on a jigsaw puzzle one recent morning at the local senior center. She said it cost her $1,000 a month to heat her three-story house last winter, which she paid from the $1,483 she receives each month from Social Security benefits. She is worried about next winter and thinking about getting a part-time job to pay her bills.

• “Why is he doing that to us?” she said.

• Gust Wahl, 84, paid some $600 a month last winter to heat his home in the woods outside town. He expects to pay more as barges loaded with expensive heating oil arrive. This winter, he plans to use a wood stove he bought eight years ago and had stored away. 

• At the same time, the energy crisis now hammering dozens of communities is eroding his support in the deep-red state and becoming a central issue in the Senate race between Sullivan and Peltola. 

• Democrats have criticized Sullivan, the incumbent, for abetting Trump’s Iran war effort and being out of touch as Alaskans pay more for fuel. 

• In an interview in May, Sullivan defended Trump’s goals in Iran and said the solution to rural Alaska’s energy woes is to produce more energy in the state. 

• Peltola’s campaign has steered away from taking direct aim at Sullivan or Trump.

• She has been supportive of new oil-and- gas projects, and vowed to bring down the cost of gas, groceries and housing.

• Justin Askoak, the fuel distributor in the village of New Stuyahok, about 60 miles upriver from Dillingham, said he didn’t vote for either Trump or Kamala Harris in 2024, but he is considering voting for Peltola. He said he is very worried about the energy situation in his village, where he currently sells gasoline at $10 a gallon.

• “Everything that we purchase is double,” he said, “and it falls right into one spot, one administration.”