Alaska might just turn out to be as much fun to watch as the Colorado governor's race has been. The most gratifying news thus far from Sen. Lisa Murkowski's decision to run a write-in campaign is the indigestion it's giving party leadership.
“I am bothered by anything that makes it less likely that we can elect a Republican, especially in a state where we had every hope of electing one,” Senate GOP Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said Monday.
“Both in Delaware and in Alaska now, it's less likely than it was just two weeks ago. And looking at how we might try to regain control of the Senate, that's the part that bothers me,” Kyl said....
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) also reacted coldly to Murkowski’s decision. In a terse statement Friday night, he reported Murkowski has been removed as vice chairwoman of the Senate Republican Conference.
“By choosing to run a campaign against the Republican nominee, she no longer has my support for serving in any leadership roles, and I have accepted her letter of resignation from Senate leadership,” McConnell said in the statement.
Republicans said the decision wasn’t personal, but made clear they are cutting their ties.
Murkowski, with incredible name recognition (her legacy from her former senator and governor father) is undeterred.
Defeated Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski is going on the air with her first advertisements this week, in which she tells voters why she’s waging a write-in campaign to try to keep her seat.
Murkowski campaign spokesman Steve Wackowski confirmed the campaign will premiere television and radio spots, although he would not divulge the size of the ad buys....
Murkowski’s aides said she has about $1 million in her campaign account to fund various voter-education initiatives – including television advertisements – for a write-in campaign, an effort that the senator has acknowledged will be challenging. Not only must Alaska voters write Murkowski on the ballot, but they must also mark a separate box on the ballot that shows they are choosing to vote for a write-in candidate.
That $1 million will by and awful lot of airtime in Alaska. Meanwhile, Dem Scott McAdams welcomes Murkowski's effort, and says "his campaign has seen an influx of volunteers and activity since Murkowski’s announcement Friday." He has good reason to applaud this development. The fight on the right is undoubtedly going to be very ugly given Miller's propensity to spout off in incredibly offensive ways. His already high negative ratings are likely going to only go up as he fights Murkowski.