excerpts from the article:
In a statement, Tshibaka labeled Murkowski "Bidenās Chief Enabling Officer" for her work across the aisle and dinged Murkowski for working "against President Trump, whose policies were the best that Alaska has ever known."
Still, beating Murkowski wonāt be easy.
As of October, the incumbent had $3 million on hand compared to about $300,000 for Tshibaka. Murkowski has the support of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. In a recent interview, McConnell said the NRSC, the Senate Leadership Fund and GOP senators are āall in for Lisa.ā
āShe's a remarkable politician. Other than Strom Thurmond, she's the only person in American history to win write-inā to the Senate, McConnell said.
Whatās more, Alaska voters changed the stateās primary system to insulate her from a Tshibaka head-to-head. The top four vote-getters advance to a run-off election, and the winner of that round will be determined by ranked-choice. That means even if Tshibaka outpaces Murkowski in the stateās open primary, Murkowski could still win the general election.
Itās also apparent that Murkowski will have plenty of air cover. Murkowski's reelection campaign announcement comes after a new super PAC, "Alaskans for Lisa," filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission this week. Still, in an interview in August, Murkowski expressed hope the stateās system will help steer the country away from increasingly divisive politics.
āIt actually helps to ensure that you donāt see these primary results, where the individual further to the right prevails in a primary and then is not able to prevail in a general,ā Murkowski said. āI canāt stand the destructive, negative nature of so much that we see in campaigning. And I donāt think most people appreciate it.ā
Itās not clear if Democrats will mount a serious challenge in Alaska, given their close relationships with Murkowski and the fact that a Democrat hasnāt won a Senate race there since 2008.
Augmenting her bipartisan appeal, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) endorsed her during a rare joint interview earlier this year.
āPeople understand that they have a person that understands Alaska and has Alaska in her blood and in every part of her veins and every morsel of her body,ā Manchin said in April.
Murkowski was a key player on the bipartisan infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden will sign on Monday, one of several moves that irked Trump. She also has developed a working relationship with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, though after considering whether to vote for Democratsā coronavirus relief bill, Murkowski ended up opposing it.
She has, however, supported some of Bidenās embattled nominees. She backed Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Rachel Levine as a health official, the first openly transgender person to win confirmation in the Senate. Murkowski has also been the Republican senator most involved in rewriting the Voting Rights Act.
Though sheās often in the mix in Washington, Murkowski remains engaged with the particular issues facing a massive and sparsely populated state, inlcuding with transportation and health care. Last week during an interview about her party's win in Virginia's gubernatorial race, Murkowski had her head buried deep in papers documenting the spread of coronavirus in Alaska, which has struggled of late with its pandemic response.
But even as she attends to the sluggish economy and dire coronavirus situation in Alaska, she also said sheās paying attention to the national political mood ā and it looks good for Republicans.
āYou pay attention to how these races are going,ā she said. āI certainly think that it is a signal to Biden that heās got some real challenges in front of him in terms of the level of support.ā
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