Sen. Murkowski Underwater With Alaska Republicans as Primary Nears

Establishment Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is underwater with Alaskan Republican voters, according to a Monday Morning Consult poll.

Only 41 percent approved of Murkowski’s job performance, while 46 percent disapproved.

The polling comes as Murkowski, who is supported by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), hopes to defeat Donald Trump-endorsed Kelly Tshibaka in the August 16 Republican primary. In March polling, Murkowski trailed Tshibaka (45.4 to 28.7 percent).

Murkowski’s campaign has been flooded with donations from large political action groups. Murkowski ended the second quarter with $6.1 million in her campaign account with a second quarter raise of $1.7 million. In contrast, Tshibaka has $1.1 million on hand and raised about $585,000 last quarter. Tshibaka’s campaign has raised a total $3.1 million.

McConnell, an ardent defender of the established order in Washington, DC, is one reason Murkowski has fundraised better than Tshibaka. “It’s important for Lisa to be reelected. She’s one of the few sort of moderates in the middle of the Senate,” McConnell said of his colleague in April. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure she’s successful.”

But the pressure on Murkowski is mounting after she backed many Democrat priorities in the Senate, including implementing gun control, confirming Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, attempting to impeach former President Donald Trump, and helping President Biden pass massive spending bills.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson listens during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March 21, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)

Tshibaka has highlighted Murkowski’s alliance with Democrats. “In Alaska, she says she is looking out for us, but in D.C. she turns her back on us, and she votes and parties with liberals,” Tshibaka said. “[N]ot one of these liberals has Alaska’s best interests at heart, yet these are Lisa Murkowski’s cronies.”

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter and Gettr @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.