Trump critic Lisa Murkowski breaks with GOP again, endorses Democrat in Alaska governor’s race

WASHINGTON, DC: Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski has thrown her support behind Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins in the race for governor, breaking with her own party ahead of the election.

Murkowski said she is backing him because he is willing to work with people on both sides of the aisle and believes Alaska needs a governor who can work effectively with the Legislature.

The move puts Murkowski at odds with President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Republican candidate Bernadette Wilson. Murkowski has repeatedly criticised Trump, who recently hit back at her after she questioned his administration’s legal challenge involving Alaska’s Senate ballots.

The endorsement marks another clash between the two.

Lisa Murkowski endorses Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for Alaska governor

Murkowski, one of Trump’s more vocal critics among Senate Republicans, said she is backing Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins over Bernadette Wilson, who has the president’s endorsement.

“JKT is a young Alaskan with a view and a perspective that I think Alaska needs right now, a freshness of energy, a commonsense guy who has a known ability to be working together,” she said in an interview with NBC affiliate KTUU in Anchorage.

Murkowski said she believes the three Republican gubernatorial candidates on Alaska’s ballot, which uses ranked-choice voting, are too partisan.

“We need a governor who’s going to work with the Legislature,” she said. “That has got to happen for the delegation to be successful back in Washington, DC”

Kreiss-Tompkins, a former state lawmaker, told KTUU he was grateful for Murkowski’s support.

“I have a lot of respect for Lisa, her integrity. I think she’s worked across the aisle in Congress, which is a quality I really admire and hope to live up to if I’m elected governor,” he said.

“And I’m very grateful that she wanted to step up and be a part of the coalition that we’re building.”

He added that the two of them have “had a few conversations” as his campaign has progressed, “and I think she just got to a degree where she felt she was confident in our ticket and our ability to solve problems for Alaska.”

Trump attacks Lisa Murkowski over Alaska election dispute

Wilson criticised Murkowski’s endorsement, accusing the senator of abandoning Alaska’s values.

In a statement, Wilson also alleged that Kreiss-Tompkins was aligned with “extreme socialists” who opposed Trump.

“Given that Senator Lisa Murkowski abandoned Alaska values a long time ago, I am not surprised that she has endorsed ‘Just Keep Taxing’ JKT,” she said in a statement, arguing that Kreiss-Tompkins’ “allegiance lies with extreme socialists hellbent on fighting President Trump to the detriment of everyday Alaskans.”

The Trump administration sued election officials in Alaska last week, arguing that Sullivan Jr’s appearance on the ballot could mislead voters who intended to support Sullivan’s re-election.

Murkowski criticised the move, writing on X, “Alaskans don’t need any help voting for their preferred candidates, and the State of Alaska has already handled this by clearly distinguishing the candidates on this year’s ballot.”

Trump subsequently attacked Murkowski on social media, calling her the “Republicans' Worst Senator, by far.”