The Alaska Republican Party on Saturday voted to censure Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) at its quarterly meeting and pledged to support a primary challenger against the incumbent lawmaker.
In January, Murkowski joined six other Republican senators in voting to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial in which the former president was acquitted of inciting the deadly January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“There’s a number of issues that the party has had with Sen. Murkowski for the last several years which really culminated in the conviction vote of former President Trump,” said Kris Warren, head of the Anchorage Republican Party group. “She’s repeatedly spoken out against President Trump over the years in spite of all the great accomplishments he had that helped the country and certainly helped Alaska.”
Earlier this March, Trump promised to campaign against Murkowski, who is up for re-election in 2022.
“I will not be endorsing, under any circumstances, the failed candidate from the great State of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski,” Trump said in a statement first obtained by Politico.
“She represents her state badly and her country even worse. I do not know where other people will be next year, but I know where I will be — in Alaska campaigning against a disloyal and very bad Senator,” the former president added.
Trump also said he would oppose Murkowski’s re-election due to the Alaska Republican’s support to confirm Deb Haaland, President Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of the Interior.
“(Murkowski’s) vote to advance radical left Democrat Deb Haaland for Secretary of the Interior is yet another example of Murkowski not standing up for Alaska,” Trump said.
Following Trump’s statement, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) broke with the former president, saying he would support Murkowski.
“Absolutely,” McConnell responded when asked by CNN if the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) will back the incumbent senator.