Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced Friday that she will seek reelection to a seat for which former president Donald Trump has already backed a Republican challenger following Murkowski’s vote to convict him in his second impeachment trail.
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In an announcement video, Murkowski made no mention of Trump nor Kelly Tshibaka, the Trump-backed candidate, but offered a pointed message to those trying to deny her reelection to an office she has held since 2002.
“In this election, Lower 48 outsiders are going to try to grab Alaska’s Senate seat for their partisan agendas,” Murkowski said in a video focused on her deep ties to the state. “They don’t understand our state, and frankly they couldn’t care less about your future.”
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“I will work with anyone from either party to advance Alaska’s priorities, and I will always stand up to any politician or special interest that threatens our way of life,” Murkowski said.
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Murkowski, one of the most moderate Senate Republicans, drew Trump’s ire in 2018 when she opposed his Supreme Court nominee, Brett M. Kavanaugh — a move Trump said at the time that Alaskans would “never forgive.”
Murkowski was the first Republican senator to call for Trump to resign after the Jan. 6 insurrection, saying he had “caused enough damage.” She was one of seven GOP senators to vote against him at his subsequent impeachment trial.
In June, Trump announced his support for Tshibaka, a former state commissioner of administration in Alaska, calling Murkowski “bad for Alaska.”
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Several Trump aides are helping with Tshibaka’s campaign, and Trump has vowed to come to Alaska to campaign on Tshibaka’s behalf. According to Tshibaka’s campaign, Trump will host a fundraiser for her in February at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida.
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Murkowski has survived challenges from own her party before. In 2010, she lost the GOP primary but mounted a successful write-in campaign in the general election to retain her seat.
Next year’s election in Alaska will be run under a different set of rules. The top four candidates in the primary, regardless of party, will advance to the general election.
In some respects, the challenge from Tshibaka represents a proxy fight between Trump and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), another Republican who has drawn Trump’s ire, and other Senate GOP leaders who are backing Murkowski.
On Sunday, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who leads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the group would support Murkowski, citing her status as the incumbent.
In Murkowski’s announcement video, a narrator tells viewers that Murkowski is “a one-of-a-kind senator who understands our needs,” who is “independent-minded and tough” and who has earned the respect of senators in both parties.