GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced her bid Friday for reelection in a race that’s sure to be tough for the moderate Republican who has been a strong critic of former President Donald Trump.
“I’m running for reelection,” she said in a video released by her campaign. “In this election, lower 48 outsiders are going to try to grab Alaska’s Senate seat for their partisan agendas. They don’t understand our state and frankly, they couldn’t care less about your future. My commitment to Alaska is the same one I made during my first campaign.”
She added: “I will work with anyone from either party to advance Alaskans’ priorities, and I will always stand up to any politician or special interest that threatens our way of life “
Murkowski faces a tough reelection after Trump has vowed to unseat her following her vote to convict him in his second impeachment trial last January.
Instead of Murkowski, Trump endorsed Kelly Tshibaka, who was Alaska’s Commissioner of Administration earlier this year before she resigned to run for the Senate.
Murkowski has previously taken aim at Tshibaka, also a Republican, over her ties to Alaska in an interview with CNN last month, alluding to a state investigation into whether Tshibaka illegally obtained a fishing license for a sportfishing event in 2019 because she had not lived in the state for the previous 12 months.
“Alaskans take their fishing very seriously,” Murkowski said. “She’s got a problem with her fishing license and residency problem.”
“That’s not what I care about,” she added. “That’s what others care about.”
Asked what she thought about her potential opponent, Murkowski said, “I don’t know her. She just came back to the state a couple years ago.”
Murkowski has the backing of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his well-funded super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund.
Asked last month, before she announced she was running for reelection, if his group is prepared to engage to help Murkowski, McConnell told CNN: “Absolutely.”
