Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who has been serving on the Senate for two decades, is in danger of losing her position to fellow Republican and Trump-endorsed challenger Kelly C. Tshibaka.
The prediction that Murkowski would lose the role she’s held for twenty years comes from FiveThirtyEight. A Republican candidate is the most likely winner of next month’s senate election in Alaska FiveThirtyEight reveals Tshibaka is most likely to emerge victorious, placing her chances at 53 percent.
Tshibaka previously served as a commissioner of Alaska’s Department of Administration, but receiving the backing of former President Donald Trump has made her Congressional aspirations feasible.
Murkowski, however, drew considerable backlash for her support of Trump’s impeachment, placing her on the backfoot of political newcomer Tshibaka.
The two women will be locked in a tight battle when Alaskans head to the polls on November 8, thanks to a measure voters approved in 2020 that enabled rank-choice voting.
Tshibaka and Murkowski emerged as the top two candidates in Alaska’s nonpartisan blanket primary and will face off against the Democratic candidate Patricia Chesbro.
Besides supporting Trump’s impeachment, Murkowski has also faced criticism for not being tougher on President Joe Biden’s agenda.
The Republican Senator is also considered a long-time swing vote in Senate battles, consistently polling as one of the most liberal Republican Senators. A 2017 GovTrack analysis places her as the second most liberal Republican, placing her to the left of conservative Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.).
Murkowski was censured by the GOP following her vote to convict Trump in the second impeachment attempt. However, she has received the backing of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who recently threw his support behind the veteran Senator as Trump continues his assault against her political career.
