GONE ROGUE

GOP Senator Snubs Trump With Stinging Endorsement

Lisa Murkowski is pushing the president’s buttons.

A Republican senator has gone rogue to endorse a Democrat in a stinging snub to President Donald Trump ahead of next week’s midterm elections.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska crossed party lines to endorse Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for governor on Tuesday. The Democrat is running to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Trump ally, in a contest against three Republicans.

Trump, 80, endorsed Dunleavy, 64, in three previous gubernatorial campaigns, while Dunleavy endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential primary.

Murkowski, 69, was brutal in her assessment of the current situation in Alaska, and singled out 37-year-old Democrat, even using his nickname.

“JKT is a young Alaskan with a view and a perspective that I think Alaska needs right now,” Murkowski told Alaska News Source. She said Kreiss-Tomkins has a “freshness of energy, a common-sense guy who has a known ability to be working together.”

She added, “We need a governor who’s going to work with the legislature. That has got to happen for the delegation to be successful back in Washington DC.”

“Alaskans are seeking change. They don’t like the status quo,” Murkowski said. “I think it’s been a hard eight years in many different areas, and Alaskans are looking for something different.”

She was also critical of Dunleavy’s work as governor. “I have found fault. I have found fault with the Dunleavy administration,” Murkowski said.

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“I think that they have left federal money on the table. I think in certain areas, where we have worked hard to put opportunities from the federal side, here, into the state, the state has failed with it.”

Kreiss-Tomkins would be the first Democrat to lead the state since 1988. Frank Murkowski, a former Republican senator and governor, and Lisa’s father, also endorsed the Democrat on Tuesday.

After the endorsement, Kreiss-Tomkins told KTUU2 on Tuesday, “I have a lot of respect for Lisa. I think she’s worked across the aisle in Congress, which is a quality I really admire and hope to live up to if I’m elected governor.”

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Dunleavy’s eight years in office means he cannot seek another term. Former state lawmaker Kreiss-Tomkins is leading in the polls against the leading Republican Bernadette Wilson, whom Trump endorsed.

Two other Republicans are on the ballot, due to Alaska’s four-candidate ranked-choice electoral system.

Murkowski, who will be up for re-election in 2028, has form for going against Republicans, and endorsed Democrat Mary Peltola for re-election to the U.S. House in 2024, as well as opposing the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice in 2018.

She has also long been on Trump’s MAGA enemy list. He let loose on Truth Social this week, calling her “The Republicans’ Worst Senator, by far.”

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He wrote, “Lisa Murkowski is a DISGRACE to Alaska and our Country. You just don’t get any worse! I hope the Great People of Alaska understand what is happening.”

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.

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