Lisa Murkowski Backs Democrat

Summary

Updated Oct 28, 6:00am ET

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorsed Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for Alaska governor. She passed over the race’s three Republican candidates. The election will replace term-limited Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, with Kreiss-Tomkins facing Bernadette Wilson, Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor. President Trump endorsed Wilson and urged Bronson and Taylor to leave, arguing multiple Republicans could split the ranked-choice vote. Murkowski said Alaska needs a governor who works across party lines, and she criticized Dunleavy’s administration for leaving federal funding unused. Kreiss-Tomkins welcomed her support, while Wilson said Murkowski had abandoned Alaska values. Kreiss-Tomkins would be Alaska’s first Democratic governor since 1988. The outcome remained pending about a week before Election Day.

Left and right

From the left

Left-leaning outlets framed the decision as a bipartisan break from party loyalty, with sharper attention to Trump and Dunleavy than to Republican unity. HuffPost highlighted Murkowski’s argument that Alaska should not be held back by partisan divisions. Daily Beast cast the move as Republican defiance of Trump. MS NOW emphasized Murkowski’s dissatisfaction with Dunleavy’s direction.

From the right

Only one right-leaning outlet we track covered this: Washington Examiner, under the headline “GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski backs Democrat in Alaska gubernatorial race”.