Dear Senator Mitch McConnell:
Stop involving yourself in the affairs of the Alaska Republican Party.
As our party’s state national committeeman, and as a former lieutenant governor of our great state, allow me to explain how we do things up here. As Republicans, we tend to our own business, and we expect others to leave us to it.
Nineteen months ago, our state party censured Sen. Lisa Murkowski “for her votes and actions contrary to the Alaska Republican Party platform and best interests of the State of Alaska.” Our state Party then enthusiastically endorsed Kelly Tshibaka as our official Republican candidate in the 2022 general election for United States Senate.
Senator McConnell, the primary mission of the Republican Party, for which you are a senior leader, is to elect Republicans. As leader of the Senate Leadership Fund, an independent super PAC, your organizations stated objective is to “build a Republican Senate majority.” I submit, sir, that your current vicious negative campaign against our Alaska Republican Party endorsed candidate for United States Senate, Kelly Tshibaka, is not only misguided, but a violation of your organizations stated goal and destructive to the principles and values of the Republican Party.
At a time when you should be laser focused on gaining a large Republican senate majority in next month’s election, you have spent about $9.0 Million dollars in Alaska on negative ads trashing our endorsed Republican candidate. The ads are filled with lies, for which Tshibaka has produced documented proof. They have caused unprecedented anger among state Republicans. So far five local district committees have passed resolutions condemning your actions – including one which pleaded with your Kentucky GOP to intervene – and three influential Republican Women’s Clubs have also called on you to cease and desist.
This weekend the Alaska Republican Party State Central Committee approved a resolution “condemning the egregious, misleading, and divisive behavior of Senator Mitch McConnell and the Senate Leadership Fund.” The resolution further requested the Senate Leadership Fund immediately stop the attack ads against Kelly Tshibaka and discontinue all support of Senator Murkowski. It also requested the Republican Party of Kentucky leadership act against you for your inappropriate behavior against Alaska Republicans and our Republican endorsed candidate, Kelly Tshibaka.
Instead of wasting precious millions attacking an Alaskan Republican, you should be investing every dime you can collect towards supporting Republican senatorial candidates across our great land who are in close races against DEMOCRATS. If Ron Johnson loses his reelection in Wisconsin; or Dr. Oz loses in Pennsylvania; or Mike Lee loses in Utah; or Laxalt loses Nevada; or Blake Masters loses in Arizona, you will be partly responsible for diverting needed campaign funding away from these races to attack a Republican in Alaska who is running against another Republican.
Your job is to elect Republicans to gain a Republican senate majority. On election day, Alaska will again choose a Republican senator. Whether Alaskans elect Lisa Murkowski or Kelly Tshibaka, we are going to send a Republican to the United States Senate, that’s a fact. Stop your vicious smear attacks on Kelly Tshibaka and focus on the races we need to win for America to have a solid Republican senate majority next year.
As an Alaskan, and as our national committeeman, I implore you to stop it, and leave Alaska elections to Alaskans.
Craig Campbell
Alaska
Craig Campbell is the Republican National Committeeman from Alaska and served as Alaska’s tenth lieutenant governor.