As Senator Lisa Murkowski fights for re-election, she and her Trump-backed challenger, Kelly Tshibaka, tangled over who would be the right fit for Alaska.
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Senator Lisa Murkowski, left, with Kelly Tshibaka, center, and Patricia Chesbro during their debate in Anchorage on Thursday.
Senator Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican fighting for re-election in Alaska, defended her record against attacks from her Trump-backed challenger, Kelly Tshibaka, in a debate on Thursday.
Ms. Murkowski advanced to the general election in November with a nearly seven-point lead over Ms. Tshibaka, and both far outperformed their Democratic opponent, Patricia Chesbro.
But the senator has had to relentlessly campaign for political survival since she voted to convict Donald J. Trump in his impeachment trial after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Ms. Murkowski has continued to be a target of Mr. Trump, who visited the state in July for a rally with Ms. Tshibaka and this week criticized Ms. Murkowski during a tele-rally as “one of the worst senators even imaginable.”
The debate, hosted by Alaska Public Media, Alaska’s News Source and KTOO, a local station, covered a range of issues, including the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, gun violence in schools, the management of the state’s fisheries and the response to climate change. Ms. Murkowski highlighted her bipartisan work on infrastructure, energy and gun legislation.
Ms. Tshibaka sought to cast herself as the candidate who would bring change, repeatedly taking swipes at Ms. Murkowski over her votes in favor of nominees and legislation backed by President Biden. She also criticized a gun measure supported by Ms. Murkowski, using it to tie her to Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader.
“I would not have voted for the extreme Biden gun control that our incumbent worked on with Senator McConnell,” Ms. Tshibaka said.
The bipartisan bill, which was signed into law by President Biden in June after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, was crafted to keep dangerous people from accessing firearms, while increasing investments in the nation’s mental health system. Its passage broke years of stalemate in Congress on the issue.
But Mr. McConnell has become a particularly sore subject for Trump Republicans in Alaska. The super PAC Senate Leadership Fund, which is aligned with Mr. McConnell, has spent more than $5 million in ads attacking Ms. Tshibaka. And in a move meant to rally conservatives, the Alaska Republican Party, which is supporting Ms. Tshibaka, this week voted to censure Mr. McConnell for trying to boost Ms. Murkowski’s re-election chances.
Ms. Murkowski, who has filled the seat since late 2002 and is the most senior member of Alaska’s congressional delegation, has vastly out-raised her opponents and has focused her path to victory on the coalition of moderate Republicans, Democrats and independents that has backed her for years. She defended her work on the gun bill, saying the legislation was led by Senator John Cornyn of Texas, “a very conservative Republican.”
She also pointed to her work on a 2020 energy law and a bipartisan infrastructure package, which she said was bringing in millions of dollars in funding to allow cities to expand broadband and connectivity.
“Alaskans want results,” Ms. Murkowski said. “They don’t want partisan political rhetoric.”
Source: nytimes.com
