Murkowski remains undecided on whether she’ll vote for Trump

  • By Becky Bohrer
  • Tuesday, August 9, 2016 8:22pm
  • News

JUNEAU — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she does not know if she will vote for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump this fall.

But the moderate Alaska Republican told The Associated Press she knows who she won’t vote for, and that’s Democrat Hillary Clinton. Murkowski is concerned that Clinton’s policy positions would be harmful to a resource-producing state like Alaska.

Murkowski said she has not endorsed Trump and will continue to speak out on issues where they disagree. She said that she has time to decide how she will vote in the November election.

“I’ve got a few months to listen, as other Americans are, to what is laid down in terms of policy, and we’ll figure it out,” she said Monday.

Another GOP moderate, Maine U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, on Monday became the latest Republican to announce she would not vote for Trump. Unlike Collins, however, Murkowski is up for re-election this year.

Murkowski faces no major opposition in next week’s GOP primary. But at least two of her rivals, independent Margaret Stock and Democrat Edgar Blatchford, have called on Murkowski to take a stand against Trump.

Blatchford, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Murkowski in November, said it’s scary to think of Trump, “a guy who has a temper-tantrum problem,” in the White House.

“You just cannot vote in this election based on party discipline,” Blatchford said. “I think what you have to do is, you have to stand up and say, ‘This is the right thing for the country.’ “

Jim Lottsfeldt, a political strategist, said one of the criticisms Murkowski often gets is that she can be “a little too safe” in her approach. He thinks Murkowski will win re-election regardless of her stance on Trump. But he would like for her to be more open about her thoughts on Trump.

“She can speak her mind without paying a price for speaking her mind, and I think she should,” Lottsfeldt said Tuesday.

Murkowski was upset in her primary bid in 2010 by tea party favorite Joe Miller, but she came back to retain her seat with a successful general election write-in campaign.

Alaska’s junior U.S. senator, Dan Sullivan, was the only member of the state’s Republican congressional delegation to attend last month’s GOP national convention, in which Trump accepted the party’s presidential nomination.

Sullivan has said he intends to support Trump, but he has spoken out when he disagrees with Trump, most recently on Trump’s feud with a couple whose son, a U.S. Army officer, was killed in Iraq.

In that case, Murkowski said military families who lose loved ones in war deserve “unconditional love and support,” and Trump must honor and respect that.

More in News

A map of areas proposed for annexation by the City of Soldotna. (Provided by City of Soldotna)
Soldotna adds annexation proposal to ballot

The proposed annexation is split across five small areas around the city.

Nets are extended from North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, during the first day of the Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘A really good day’

Kenai River personal use sockeye salmon dipnet fishery opens.

The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Borough building in Soldotna is seen here on June 1. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough assembly to consider ordinance to increase residential property tax exemption

If approved by voters in October, the ordinance would increase the tax exemption by $25,000.

Vice President Kelly Cooper speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough considers seasonal sales tax rate

Borough sales tax would be modified from a flat 3% to a seasonal model of 4% in summer months and 2% in winter months.

The Kasilof River is seen from the Kasilof River Recreation Area, July 30, 2019, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
King salmon fishing on Kasilof closes Thursday

If any king salmon is caught while fishing for other species, they may not be removed from the water and must be released immediately.

Un’a, a female sea otter pup who was admitted to the Alaska SeaLife Center in June 2025, plays with an enrichment toy at the center in Seward, Alaska. Photo courtesy of the Alaska SeaLife Center
SeaLife Center admits 2 seal pups, 1 orphaned otter

The three pups join the Alaska SeaLife Center’s ‘growing’ patient list.

James Wardlow demonstrates flilleting a salmon with an ulu during a smoked salmon demonstration, part of Fish Week 2023, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Refuge to celebrate all things fish during weeklong event

Fish Week will take place July 16-19.

President Zen Kelly speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School board finalizes budget with deep cuts to programming, classrooms

Multiple members of the board said they were frustrated by the state’s failure to fund education.

Most Read