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Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski has had a lead in polls so far as she attempts to fend off primary challenger Kelly Tshibaka. In an important setback for Murkowski’s campaign, however, Tshibaka has now been endorsed by Maggie’s List, a national conservative women’s group. Murkowski is a prominent Trump opponent within the GOP and the former president has made it a priority to see her unseated by an opponent in the 2022 primary.
Murkowski challenger gets new conservative support
The Republican Party itself has a national policy of supporting incumbents. Murkowski may be an outlier in the party, but she can still call on extensive outside support.
The Alaska Republican Party, however, feels that it is time for Murkowski to go. The state GOP has given its endorsement to Kelly Tshibaka in a deliberate rejection of the incumbent.
Tshibaka’s most important endorsement, of course, is that of Donald Trump. Trump won Alaska easily in 2020 and his endorsement could be very powerful in 2022.
The Maggie’s List endorsement is a very good sign for Tshibaka because it indicates that other Republicans outside of Alaska are willing to offer support.
Rather than being only a Trump proxy in his crusade to unseat Murkowski, Tshibaka can claim that she is a viable alternative for voters who want a more conservative senator.
Maggie’s List says that its mission is to help conservative women win Congressional elections. If they’re endorsing Tshibaka, it can only be because they think Murkowski isn’t much of a conservative.
A difficult incumbent to beat
2022 will be the year that decides the fate of Republicans in Congress who voted for Trump’s second impeachment in 2021. Lisa Murkowski is the first of the senators to face reelection.
Murkowski faces a strong primary challenge but she isn’t showing too much concern yet and it’s easy enough to see why.
The senator comes from an Alaskan political dynasty and won as a write-in candidate in 2010 after losing the primary to a Tea Party challenger.
Only one other U.S. senator (Strom Thurmond of South Carolina) has ever won a general election as a write-in candidate, making this a very significant feat for Murkowski and an indication of how much clout she possesses in Alaskan politics.
The fact that only two senators have been able to accomplish this is also a problem for the incumbent; can the same candidate win such an improbable victory twice?
Of course, that only becomes a concern if she loses the primary to Tshibaka. The pro-Trump challenger is still behind for now, but with conservative momentum building there is still plenty of time for an upset.
