Sullivan campaign ad features veteran the VA told to leave Alaska for care

A retired Marine who says the VA told him to move to Seattle after a car accident left him in a wheelchair is now the face of Sen. Dan Sullivan's campaign argument that Alaska veterans cannot reliably get specialized care at home. Sullivan's campaign released the ad, titled "Nick's Story," on Monday as its second statewide spot, following a first ad titled "Honor" that highlighted his military service and veterans record.

"At first, the VA wanted me to move to Seattle for treatment, but fellow Marine Senator Dan Sullivan became my champion," retired Lance Corporal Nick Woodard said in the ad. "He worked and worked. Dan personally made the bureaucrats in DC approve the healthcare I needed here in Alaska."

Alaska's geography pushes complex VA cases toward Puget Sound facilities in Seattle and Tacoma. Sullivan, who retired from the Marine Corps Reserve as a colonel in early 2024, has framed Alaska's VA access as systemically broken since at least 2015. He sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. The campaign has cast veterans' healthcare access as a central theme of his race against Democratic candidate Mary Peltola.