Pro-Impeachment Murkowski Vows in Closing Campaign Ad to Help Democrats

Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, left, speaks to Senator Lisa Murkowski
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Wendell Husebø

Pro-impeachment Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) vowed to enable the Democrats’ agenda in her final pitch to Alaskan voters.

“Here’s my commitment to you. I will work with anyone from either party to advance Alaska’s priorities, and I will always stand up to any politician or special interest that threatens our way of life,” she said in the ad released Tuesday. “I’m Lisa Murkowski, and I approve this message. I’d be honored to earn your vote.”

It is not the first time Murkowski pledged to help the Biden administration further its agenda. She stated in September she would help the Biden administration because they are in office.

“I’m not a fan of this administration,” she claimed. “I think a lot of their policies have really hurt us. But you know what? They’re in office. And they’re going to be in office for the next two years.”

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 22: Surrounded by bipartisan members of Congress, U.S. President Joe Biden hands commemorative pens to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Lisa Murkowksi (R-AK) after he signs the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 into law in the East Room of the White House on July 22, 2021 in Washington, DC. The law adds a new source of revenue for the Crime Victims Fund and makes changes to formula grants supported by the fund. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 22: Surrounded by bipartisan members of Congress, U.S. President Joe Biden hands commemorative pens to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Lisa Murkowksi (R-AK) after he signs the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 into law in the East Room of the White House on July 22, 2021 in Washington, DC. The law adds a new source of revenue for the Crime Victims Fund and makes changes to formula grants supported by the fund. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Murkowski has helped Democrats in the past two years by voting with them nine times.

Those votes supported gun control, corporate coronavirus bailout, confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, federalizing local elections, the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill, $1.2 trillion “infrastructure” bill, confirmation of Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, confirmation of Department of Homeland (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and the impeachment of former President Donald Trump.

Murkowski has even promised to vote for the Democrat in the Alaska House election. “I know that bothers some people who want me to be that rigid, partisan person, and I’m just not… I do not toe the party line just because party leaders have asked or because it may be expected,” Murkowski told Anchorage Daily News in October.

In March, 2021, Murkowski was censured by the Alaska Republican Party and asked to leave. Murkowski refused. In turn, Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) backed super PAC has donated about $9 million to Murkowski’s campaign to defeat Trump-endorsed Kelly Tshibaka.

In total, Murkowski has outspent Tshibaka by about $7.5 million, though polling shows Tshibaka is leading by a slim margin. Eighty-five percent of Murkowski’s campaign contributions have come from out-of-state donors.

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

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