Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorsed the Democratic candidate for governor in her home state of Alaska on Tuesday, snubbing GOP contenders who include a Trump-backed candidate a week out from Election Day.
Murkowski... said she is backing Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins over Bernadette Wilson, who has Trump’s endorsement.
“JKT is a young Alaskan with a view and a perspective that I think Alaska needs right now—a freshness of energy, a commonsense guy who has a known ability to be working together,” she said in an interview...
Murkowski said she believes the three Republican gubernatorial candidates on the ballot in Alaska, which has ranked choice voting, are too partisan.
“We need a governor who’s going to work with the Legislature,” she said. “That has got to happen for the delegation to be successful back in Washington, D.C.”
Kreiss-Tompkins, a former state lawmaker, told KTUU he was grateful for Murkowski’s support.
“I have a lot of respect for Lisa, her integrity. I think she’s worked across the aisle in Congress, which is a quality I really admire and hope to live up to if I’m elected governor,” he said. “And I’m very grateful that she wanted to step up and be a part of the coalition that we’re building.”
He added that the two of them have “had a few conversations” as his campaign has progressed, “and I think she just got to a degree where she felt she was confident in our ticket and our ability to solve problems for Alaska.”
.... The NBC News Decision Desk rates the governor’s race in Alaska, where Trump won in 2016, 2020 and 2024, as leaning Democratic.
RE: GOP Senator endorses Democrat for Alaska governor
(10-28-2026 02:08 PM)GeminiCoog Wrote:
(10-28-2026 01:57 PM)solohawks Wrote: Shocker
When is the last time Murkowski took a tough vote in favor of the GOP?
The GWB administration, probably.
it was just last year — the One Big Beautiful Bill reconciliation deal. Stuff like that has lots of procedural hurdles and I don’t know where she stood on each round. But on the final vote to either pass it or reject it, the Senate voted 51-50 with Vance breaking the tie. Murkowski voted pro-Trump on that one, and it was a big one.
RE: GOP Senator endorses Democrat for Alaska governor
(10-28-2026 02:41 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:
(10-28-2026 02:08 PM)GeminiCoog Wrote:
(10-28-2026 01:57 PM)solohawks Wrote: Shocker
When is the last time Murkowski took a tough vote in favor of the GOP?
The GWB administration, probably.
it was just last year — the One Big Beautiful Bill reconciliation deal. Stuff like that has lots of procedural hurdles and I don’t know where she stood on each round. But on the final vote to either pass it or reject it, the Senate voted 51-50 with Vance breaking the tie. Murkowski voted pro-Trump on that one, and it was a big one.
RE: GOP Senator endorses Democrat for Alaska governor
(10-28-2026 02:41 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:
(10-28-2026 02:08 PM)GeminiCoog Wrote:
(10-28-2026 01:57 PM)solohawks Wrote: Shocker
When is the last time Murkowski took a tough vote in favor of the GOP?
The GWB administration, probably.
it was just last year — the One Big Beautiful Bill reconciliation deal. Stuff like that has lots of procedural hurdles and I don’t know where she stood on each round. But on the final vote to either pass it or reject it, the Senate voted 51-50 with Vance breaking the tie. Murkowski voted pro-Trump on that one, and it was a big one.
RE: GOP Senator endorses Democrat for Alaska governor
(10-28-2026 10:25 PM)solohawks Wrote:
(10-28-2026 02:41 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:
(10-28-2026 02:08 PM)GeminiCoog Wrote:
(10-28-2026 01:57 PM)solohawks Wrote: Shocker
When is the last time Murkowski took a tough vote in favor of the GOP?
The GWB administration, probably.
it was just last year — the One Big Beautiful Bill reconciliation deal. Stuff like that has lots of procedural hurdles and I don’t know where she stood on each round. But on the final vote to either pass it or reject it, the Senate voted 51-50 with Vance breaking the tie. Murkowski voted pro-Trump on that one, and it was a big one.
RE: GOP Senator endorses Democrat for Alaska governor
(10-28-2026 10:25 PM)solohawks Wrote:
(10-28-2026 02:41 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:
(10-28-2026 02:08 PM)GeminiCoog Wrote:
(10-28-2026 01:57 PM)solohawks Wrote: Shocker
When is the last time Murkowski took a tough vote in favor of the GOP?
The GWB administration, probably.
it was just last year — the One Big Beautiful Bill reconciliation deal. Stuff like that has lots of procedural hurdles and I don’t know where she stood on each round. But on the final vote to either pass it or reject it, the Senate voted 51-50 with Vance breaking the tie. Murkowski voted pro-Trump on that one, and it was a big one.
Quote:This is not a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination. I am not happy with the process. In fact, I’m really very disappointed in the process. When you’re working on major legislation like this, to be dealing with a product that you’re looking at for the first time in the middle of the night is not right. But I needed to make sure that Alaska’s interests were represented. I think I did, I think I did well by the state, in terms of trying to get these accommodations. We’ve got some flexibility working with the departments that we’ve received both from CMS (the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and from the secretary of agriculture.
her words ... she's as frustrated as we all are ... take it fwiw...
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