Alaska Sen. Murkowski endorses Democrat in governor race

Alaska’s gubernatorial race has a ranked choice system that complicates partisan strategy. On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorsed Democratic candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a move that challenges the Republican field seven days before the election.

Murkowski, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump within the Senate, said she is supporting Kreiss-Tomkins over Bernadette Wilson, who holds Trump’s endorsement. In an interview with KTUU in Anchorage, the senator described Kreiss-Tomkins as a fresh voice with the ability to collaborate across political lines.

She argued that the three Republican candidates on the ballot are too partisan for the needs of the state. Murkowski stated that a governor must work with the state Legislature to ensure the congressional delegation is effective in Washington, D.C.

Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state lawmaker, accepted the endorsement publicly. He told KTUU that he respects Murkowski’s history of working across the aisle in Congress. He noted that they have had several conversations during his campaign and that she is confident in his ticket’s ability to solve problems for Alaskans.

The race follows term-limited Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Kreiss-Tomkins faces three other candidates: former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, former state Attorney General Treg Taylor, and Wilson. The NBC News Decision Desk rates the race as leaning Democratic, despite Trump winning the state in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

Wilson rejected the endorsement in a statement, saying she is not surprised given Murkowski’s past political positions. She referred to Kreiss-Tomkins as “Just Keep Taxing” JKT and claimed his allegiance is with “extreme socialists” who want to fight President Trump.

The endorsement comes amid a separate dispute involving the Senate race. The Trump administration sued Alaska election officials last week, arguing that Democratic candidate Dan J. Sullivan Jr. could confuse voters supporting Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. Murkowski criticized the lawsuit on social media, and Trump responded the next day by calling her the “Republicans’ Worst Senator, by far.”