Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, broke ranks with her party once again on Tuesday, throwing her support behind Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins in Alaska’s race for governor just one week before voters head to the polls.
The endorsement, announced in a statement released by the Kreiss-Tomkins campaign and in an interview with KTUU-TV, puts the veteran senator squarely behind a Democrat over three Republican contenders: former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, former Attorney General Treg Taylor and Anchorage business owner and talk-show host Bernadette Wilson, who has President Donald Trump’s backing.
“Our future is too important to be hamstrung by partisan divisions,” Murkowski said, praising the former state lawmaker’s commitment to bipartisanship and arguing that Alaska needs a governor willing to work with legislators from both parties.
Kreiss-Tomkins, known to most Alaskans as “JKT,” represented Sitka and surrounding Southeast Alaska communities in the state House from 2013 to 2023. The 37-year-old Democrat has made bipartisanship a centerpiece of his campaign and has pledged to bring Republicans and independents into his administration if elected.
“I’m honored to have Senator Murkowski’s support,” Kreiss-Tomkins said. “Alaskans deserve a government that can work through disagreements and make progress on the issues that matter.”
The senator was not the only Murkowski to cross party lines Tuesday. Her father, former Republican Gov. and Sen. Frank Murkowski, endorsed Kreiss-Tomkins in an Anchorage Daily News op-ed co-written with two other former governors, Democrat Tony Knowles and independent Bill Walker. The elder Murkowski appointed his daughter to his vacated Senate seat after being elected governor in 2002.
The move drew a swift rebuke from at least one Republican in the race. Taylor said he was not surprised that Walker and Knowles lined up behind the Democrat, but called it “particularly disappointing” that Murkowski would cross party lines to endorse a Democrat for governor.
The endorsement is hardly the first time Murkowski has defied her party. She was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial, and in 2024 she endorsed Democrat Mary Peltola for Alaska’s at-large House seat. Trump has repeatedly blasted the senator, calling her “the Republicans’ Worst Senator, by far” and a “DISGRACE to Alaska and our Country.”
Kreiss-Tomkins enters the final stretch as the front-runner. A September New York Times/Siena poll found him leading with 40% support among likely voters, followed by Wilson at 20%, Bronson at 15% and Taylor at 11%. Polling suggests the Democrat’s advantage stems in part from Republican voters being split among three GOP candidates. He has also outraised each of his Republican opponents.
The Democrat has also secured the backing of Planned Parenthood’s advocacy arm, which endorsed him in September, citing his record of voting against legislation and budget items aimed at limiting abortion access during his decade in the Legislature.
The winner will replace term-limited Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Election Day is Nov. 3.
[READ MORE: Trump Administration Slams the Door on Biden-Era Visa-Free Travel Program for Chinese Nationals]
