Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski received an endorsement from a high-profile conservative group, shortly after a fellow Republican announced a primary challenge for her 2022 reelection. Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a group aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), threw its support behind Murkowski on Friday morning and called the incumbent a “champion for conservative values in Washington.”
"Alaska needs the kind of experienced representation that Lisa Murkowski provides in the United States Senate. Whether fighting for Alaskan interests like expanding energy production and protecting fisheries, or advancing conservative priorities by confirming judges and cutting taxes, her strong leadership is vitally important to Alaska's future,” SLF President Steven Law said in a release. “Many politicians put themselves first, but Lisa Murkowski always puts Alaska first."
McConnell-aligned super PAC Senate Leadership Fund endorses Murkowski, a sign that she’ll have backup in her reelection as she faces an intra-party challenge pic.twitter.com/dYUGXODYVd
— James Arkin (@JamesArkin) April 9, 2021
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the GOP's official Senate arm, also endorsed Murkowski's reelection. Meanwhile, Alaska Republican Kelly Tshibaka recently launched a primary challenge against Murkowski. The challenger takes issue with Murkowski’s opposition to former President Donald Trump, arguing that the incumbent has “betrayed” Alaska.
“For the last two decades, Lisa Murkowski has caved to the radical left. Their far-left agenda is killing our jobs and destroying our economy,” Tshibaka wrote on Twitter. “It’s time Alaska has a Senator who will stand up to these insiders and represent OUR values and stand up for Alaska once and for all!”
Tshibaka's campaign responded to SLF's endorsement, characterizing the group as "D.C. insiders." The campaign criticized Murkowski's voting record, but falsely claimed that she ultimately opposed the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett just before the 2020 general election. Murkowski opposed Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation in the Fall of 2018, but not Barrett's.
"It's just like D.C. insiders to ignore the voices of Alaska voters to protect one of their own. The Alaska Republican Party censured Lisa Murkowski and told her not to identify herself as a Republican anymore," Tshibaka campaign senior advisor Mary Ann Pruitt said in response to SLF's endorsement. "They took that dramatic action because of her vote to remove President Trump after he was already gone, but also because of her enabling of Joe Biden's radical anti-energy, anti-Alaska agenda, her vote to keep Obamacare, and her opposition to Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett."
A recent poll shows Tshibaka leading by a substantial margin in a head-to-head primary match. Fellow Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Leader McConnell both vowed to defend the incumbent, despite a threat from the former president to unseat Murkowski.
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