Endorses Democrat

Murkowski endorses Democrat in Alaska governor race

“Our future is too important to be hamstrung by partisan divisions,” she said in a statement.

By Gregory Svirnovskiy

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) endorsed Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, the state’s Democratic candidate for governor, late Tuesday.

“Our future is too important to be hamstrung by partisan divisions,” she said in a statement. “Jonathan understands that governing requires listening to people with different perspectives and finding common ground to solve the problems all of us face.”

Kreiss-Tomkins is running against three Republicans in next week’s ranked choice general election to replace Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who is term-limited.

Murkowski has long bucked Republicans, and she has taken her party to task several times since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year. The longtime senator voted against confirming Attorney General Todd Blanche in August, writing in a statement that she did not believe he could “check the worst impulses of this administration.”

She panned Trump for looking to acquire Greenland while on a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, in January and last year told a conference of nonprofit and tribal leaders in Anchorage “we are all afraid” of the reprisals that come with criticizing the president and White House.

She has, however, regularly said in the past that she has no interest in becoming a Democrat.

“I’m honored to have Senator Murkowski’s support,” Kreiss-Tomkins said in a statement. “Alaskans deserve a government that can work through disagreements and make progress on the issues that matter.”

Murkowski endorsed Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) in his tight reelection bid against former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola next week, although she has endorsed Peltola in previous runs for the House. The Justice Department last week sued Alaska over the presence of an independent candidate also named Dan Sullivan in the race, seeking to invalidate the election results if Peltola wins.

“The Department of Justice should never have filed this lawsuit,” Murkowski wrote on X in response.

It prompted a major rebuke from the president on social media. He dubbed Murkowski a “DISGRACE to Alaska and our Country” and “Republicans’ Worst Senator” in a post on Truth Social.