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A Murkowski spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s statement comes just days after Murkowski put forward the appointment of Representative Deb Haaland (DN.M.) as Home Secretary, in what Trump called “yet another example of Murkowski failing. not defending Alaska ”.
Murkowski was the only Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to approve the nomination. The 63-year-old senator said she “struggled” to support Haaland, saying she had to reconcile the Democrats’ past opposition to oil drilling with her heritage as a Native American, a well-represented population in the state of. origin of Murkowski.
Questions about how the former president will be involved in the primaries next year have gripped the GOP since he stepped down. Republicans are on hand to regain control of the House and Senate midterm next year, but some party members fear Trump will make their way more difficult by backing more extreme candidates against moderate and proven voice winners in Swing States or in Congress. districts.
Trump’s political team has commissioned a poll of the Alaska senator, further proof of his interest in overthrowing her. The survey, which was conducted from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, before Murkowski voted to convict the former president, found Murkowski had a 43% favorable rating in Alaska, below Trump’s 52% figure. . The investigation was conducted by McLaughlin and Associates, a company that worked on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns. It was funded by Save America, Trump’s political action committee.
The president’s advisers commissioned a similar poll of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Another Republican impeachment supporter Trump is expected to target in 2022.
Trump, who received 53% of the vote in Alaska in the 2020 election, has long been fixed on Murkowski. The former president called her out during his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference last weekend, along with other Republicans who supported her impeachment and assaulted her last year after saying that she was “ struggling ” over whether to support Trump’s re-election bid.
The pair also meddled in the Supreme Court, with Murkowski saying she opposed the appointment of a replacement for the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg just before the election. The senator also voted against Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
But Trump’s statement on Saturday – along with polls from his PAC leadership – represent a further escalation in his battle against Murkowski. This too in stark contrast to his support for other Republican senators for re-election in 2022. In recent days, Trump has endorsed several incumbents in generally secure seats, including Senators Mike Crapo (Idaho), Tim Scott ( SC), Todd Jeune (Ind.) and John Kennedy (La.).
However, it won’t be easy to topple Murkowski. Under Alaska’s new ranked choice voting system, candidates from all parties will compete in an open primary, with the top four qualifying for the general election. This means Murkowski won’t face the pressure of a Republican nomination battle, like the one she had in 2010. That year, Murkowski lost the GOP primary to a right-wing activist, Joe Miller, but then conducted a successful writing. campaign to win re-election.
But Murkowski acknowledged that his ‘guilty’ vote on impeachment could cost him dearly, saying that month, “I know that my actions, my vote, can have political consequences. And I understand that. I fully understand that. But I can’t be afraid of it.
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