Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski endorsed Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for governor of Alaska on Tuesday, crossing party lines one week before Election Day and three days after President Donald Trump called her "a disgrace to Alaska and our country." The endorsement puts Alaska's senior senator against the president's own pick, Republican Bernadette Wilson, in the race to succeed term-limited Governor Mike Dunleavy.
Murkowski announced her support in a television interview and in a statement released by the Kreiss-Tomkins campaign. "Our future is too important to be hamstrung by partisan divisions," she said. "Alaska needs leaders who will put our state first, and I'm proud to support them." Kreiss-Tomkins, a former Sitka state lawmaker widely known as JKT, is "a young Alaskan with a view and a perspective that I think Alaska needs right now," she said; the endorsement also covers his running mate, nonpartisan Anchorage Assembly member Zac Johnson. Her central test is cooperation in Juneau — "We need a governor who's going to work with the legislature; that has got to happen for the delegation to be successful in Washington" — and she faulted the outgoing administration directly: "I have found fault with the Dunleavy administration. I think that they have left federal money on the table," she said, naming the Alaska Marine Highway System as one example.
The endorsement did not come out of nowhere. Murkowski herself has repeatedly voted to stop one of President Trump's top priorities: the SAVE America Act, requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register for federal elections and photo ID at the polls. The House passed it in February, 218 to 213. On March 17, when the Senate voted 51 to 48 simply to begin debate, Murkowski was the only Republican who voted no. When Senator Lindsey Graham tried to attach the measure to an immigration funding package, his amendment failed 48 to 50, Murkowski one of four Republicans who joined every Democrat to stop it. On June 4, Senator Mike Lee's vote on the clean House version ran 50 to 49 in favour — a majority, but short of the 60 Senate budget rules required — and Murkowski stayed opposed, one of only three Republicans still voting no. The bill remains stalled, even though polls show most Americans support it.
The race she has stepped into is an open one. Dunleavy, a Republican, cannot run again, and Kreiss-Tomkins — a decade-long state House veteran — is the only Democrat facing three Republicans: Wilson, former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and former state Attorney General Treg Taylor. A September Siena College poll put Kreiss-Tomkins at 40 percent, Wilson at 20, Bronson at 15 and Taylor at 11, and had him beating Wilson 52 to 48 after ranked-choice rounds. Forecasters rate it leaning Democratic, in a state Trump carried three times, where about 63 percent of voters are nonpartisan or undeclared.
Trump's case in the race is unity. On October 13, an hour before a rally in Wasilla, he gave Wilson his "Complete and Total Endorsement": "All Bronson and Taylor will do is take away Votes from the Candidate that has, by far, the best chance of winning. Now is the time for all Republicans to unite behind Bernadette to ensure she has a tremendous Victory in November!" On stage he urged both men to drop out, arguing he has delivered for Alaska at historic levels. Trump says Bronson agreed to quit at his request, then jumped back in; Bronson says his recollection is different — he agreed to leave only if Taylor did too, and Taylor never did.
The sharpest exchange came the weekend before the endorsement — in that order. On Thursday, October 22, the Justice Department, at what Trump says was his direction, sued to block certification of Alaska's Senate result if Dan Sullivan loses because votes went to a Petersburg man who shares his name, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. On Friday, Murkowski answered: "The Department of Justice should never have filed this lawsuit." On Saturday night, October 24, Trump posted his reply, calling her "The Republicans' Worst Senator, by far" and writing: "Lisa Murkowski is a DISGRACE to Alaska and our Country. You just don't get any worse!" His argument: the ranked-choice ballot is "a TOTAL DEMOCRAT SCAM meant to confuse the Voter," the same-name candidacy is a ploy to steal the Senate seat, and all he is asking for is "a FAIR AND HONEST SENATORIAL ELECTION" — plus a yes vote on Ballot Measure 2 to repeal ranked-choice voting. Three days after that post, Murkowski endorsed the Democrat.
Wilson answered head-on: "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. She added that she campaigned against Murkowski in 2010 and, as governor, would "actively work to unseat the worst 'Republican' senator in the country" — Murkowski's next election is 2028. Taylor said he was disappointed the senator crossed party lines; Bronson was cooler — "Senator Murkowski is entitled to endorse whoever she chooses, just as President Trump is. My loyalty, however, remains with the people of Alaska." Kreiss-Tomkins welcomed the backing: "I'm honored to have Senator 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."
She was not the only Murkowski to endorse him on Tuesday. Her father, former Senator and Governor Frank Murkowski, joined former Governors Tony Knowles (D) and Bill Walker (I) in a joint newspaper op-ed backing Kreiss-Tomkins. "We come from different political backgrounds, have different perspectives and have not always agreed on issues facing our state," the three wrote. "But we share a deep commitment to Alaska and its future. That is why we are coming together to support Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for governor." Walker used the candidate's own pitch: "JKT talks about being the math candidate, and I believe in math and we've got a math problem."
Crossing lines is familiar ground for her. She lost a Republican primary in 2010 and won the general election as a write-in; she endorsed Democrat Mary Peltola for the U.S. House in 2022 and 2024; and in January she endorsed Republican Senator Dan Sullivan for reelection — the seat Peltola is now contesting. Alaska's ranked-choice system, adopted in 2020 and kept by just 743 votes in 2024, decides the race on November 3, when voters also rule on Measure 2, its repeal. With three Republicans splitting first choices, everything turns on second rankings — why Trump and Wilson want the field cleared, and why an endorsement aimed at Alaska's nonpartisan middle matters. Early voting opened October 19. For Alaska voters, the choice is now also a verdict on the feud itself: the president's demand for party unity behind his candidate, or their senior senator's insistence that the state comes before the party.
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