Murkowski Endorses Democrat Kreiss-Tomkins for Alaska Governor Over Three Republicans

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, endorsed Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for governor of Alaska on Tuesday, breaking with her party in a race that includes three Republicans. They are Trump-endorsed Bernadette Wilson, Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor. Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state lawmaker, is running with nonpartisan lieutenant governor candidate Zac Johnson. The winner will succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy. In a statement, Murkowski said the state's future is too important to be hamstrung by partisan divisions and that Kreiss-Tomkins would work toward solutions for all Alaskans. She told Alaska News Source the Dunleavy administration had left federal money on the table. Kreiss-Tomkins said he was honored and promised cooperation over conflict. Murkowski also endorsed Democrat Mary Peltola in 2022 and 2024, though this year she backs Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan against Peltola. Kreiss-Tomkins was already favored, partly because the Republican vote is split. President Trump criticized Murkowski in an October 24 Truth Social post.

Left-leaning outlets Talking Points Memo and HuffPost treat the endorsement as a break with Trump and her party. TPM calls her an increasing thorn in Trump's side, notes she often votes with him despite public criticism, and quotes her criticism of Dunleavy. It calls her Friday denunciation of a Justice Department lawsuit the more significant move. HuffPost leads with her joint statement and reminds readers she voted to convict Trump in 2021. Right-leaning outlets agree on the facts and quotes but frame them differently. Fox News says she snubbed a Trump-backed candidate, quotes her interview with KTUU calling Kreiss-Tomkins a common-sense guy, and surrounds the story with midterm and Alaska ballot-dispute links. Breitbart puts "Republican" in quotation marks, calls ranked-choice voting a scheme, and lists her votes against Trump nominees such as Pete Hegseth and Todd Blanche. It also cites Trump's attack on her. NewsNation's short report matches the basic facts.