Murkowski vows to work to elect Republican senator

  • By Becky Bohrer
  • Monday, August 18, 2014 9:43pm
  • News

ANCHORAGE — Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Monday questioned how Alaskans have benefited from having a Democratic senator the past few years.

Murkowski told reporters she would work hard after Tuesday’s primary to help ensure Republicans win the seat held by Democrat Mark Begich, who is seeking re-election. Begich defeated longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens for the seat in 2008.

In a speech to the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce Monday, Murkowski said things such as limited development opportunities in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and federal plans that ignore the potential for drilling on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are like sanctions on Alaska.

The state has had a mixed delegation for six years, she told reporters.

“Tell me how having a Democrat in the Senate, working with a Democrat administration, has benefited the state of Alaska,” Murkowski added later. “I’ve yet to see it.”

Begich spokesman Max Croes said Alaskans benefit “from having a voice in every discussion in Washington that knows Alaska, defends the Second Amendment and protects the rights of Alaska women.”

By email, he said Begich helped secure permits that Shell needed for Arctic drilling; pushed the administration for permits at Greens Creek, Red Dog and other mines; successfully fought against mail rate increases on rural Alaska; and has been part of the ongoing effort to bring two squadrons of F-35 fighter planes to Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks.

On a number of Alaska issues, the delegation, which also includes Republican Rep. Don Young, has worked together.

The issue of cooperation has been a prickly point in this campaign, with Begich referencing his work with Murkowski in campaign ads, and Murkowski saying he should run on his own record.

Young told Kodiak radio station KMXT he thought Begich has done a “good job.”

“I think some of his votes were wrong. But again I’ve known him since he was 10 years old and watched his growth. Everybody has to make up his own decision how they’d vote and not vote.”

At the state Republican convention in May, Young said his desire to get a Republican elected to replace Begich wasn’t personal. He said it was about ensuring that Harry Reid no longer was majority leader.

Murkowski blamed Reid for much of the gridlock in the Senate and said the current Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, has assured GOP members he would allow for a return to a more normal course of business if he ran the Senate, including allowing for amendments on bills and letting the committee process play out.

“I think it’s critically important that we reform the Senate, and you can best reform the Senate by change in leadership,” Murkowski said.

If Republicans take over, Murkowski said Alaska also would benefit from having her serve as chair of the Senate energy committee, a post for which she would be in line.

While she has not publicly said who she is voting for in Tuesday’s primary, Murkowski said she had two good friends running, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and former state attorney general Dan Sullivan. She did not mention tea party favorite Joe Miller, who she beat with a general-election write-in campaign after he defeated her in the 2010 Senate primary.

During her write-in, Murkowski said the focus should not be on party labels but on what’s best for Alaska. She said she remained committed to bipartisan cooperation in Washington.

More in News

Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Candidate Bill Elam waves signs on election day on Tuesday, Oct 3, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Voters take to the polls during Tuesday municipal election

Poll workers report low turnout across the central peninsula

Some of the pumpkins submitted to the pumpkin-decorating contest are seen here during the 5th annual Kenai Fall Pumpkin Festival in Kenai, Alaska, on Oct. 10, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)
Kenai’s Fall Pumpkin Fest set for Saturday

The fun actually starts early, as a central element of the festival is a pumpkin decorating contest already underway

Aurora Borealis Charter School Art and Music Teacher Eleanor Van Sickle leads students in a performance of "Autumn Canon," a Hungarian song at a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Student serenade

Aurora Borealis Charter School students sing at the assembly during the regular school board meeting on Monday

Bear 747, defending Fat Bear Week Champion, stands on the bank of the Brooks River in Katmai National Park, Alaska. The winner of a Thursday matchup between Bear 128 Grazer and Bear 151 Walker will meet 747 in Fat Bear Week competition on Saturday. (Photo courtesy C. Cravatta/National Park Service)
Survival of the fattest

Paunchy ursine competitors go head-to-head in annual Fat Bear Week

Soldotna Elementary School Principal Dr. Austin Stevenson walks amid natural gas pipes anchored to the outside of school on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
High costs stall work on school bond

A cost estimate for the reconstruction of Soldotna Elementary School came back $13.5 million over budget

(City of Seward)
Police standoff closes Seward Highway

Police say standoff was with ‘barricaded individual,’ not escaped inmate

Mount Redoubt can be seen across Cook Inlet from North Kenai Beach on Thursday, July 2, 2022. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska not included in feds’ proposed 5-year oil and gas program

The plan includes a historically low number of proposed sales

A copy of "People, Paths, and Places: The Frontier History of Moose Pass, Alaska" stands in sunlight in Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Moose Pass to receive award for community historical effort

“People, Paths, and Places: The Frontier History of Moose Pass, Alaska” was a collaboration among community members

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board Member Debbie Cary speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. Cary also served on the borough’s reapportionment board. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
School board president receives award for meritorious service

Debbie Cary, of Ninilchik, is the Alaska Superintendent Association’s 2024 recipient of the Don MacKinnon Excellence in Education Award

Most Read