U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski faces a crowded field in her bid for re-election including the man who beat her in the Republican primary six years ago and an independent who has garnered support from within the Alaska Democratic party.
Murkowski’s last two Senate races were nail-biters. In 2004, she edged out Democrat Tony Knowles to keep the seat to which her father, then the governor, appointed her in 2002. In 2010, she lost the GOP primary to Joe Miller but won the general election with a write-in campaign.
While this election has lacked the drama of 2010, it has had its surprises, including Miller’s late entrance into the race as a Libertarian. Several Republicans quit leadership posts in their party to publicly back his run.
Two factions of the Democratic party have endorsed independent Margaret Stock, an immigration attorney, over their own nominee, Ray Metcalfe, an anti-corruption crusader who has feuded with party leaders over the party’s direction.
The race also includes a handful of lesser-known independent and write-in candidates.
Murkowski touted her seniority and reputation as a moderate, while several of her rivals sought to paint her as part of the problem in an ineffective Congress.
One of her biggest worries heading into the election was whether the vitriolic presidential race would turn off voters and keep them at home.
Murkowski distanced herself from her party’s nominee, Donald Trump, after a 2005 video of him making lewd comments about women surfaced. She said she can’t vote for him or Democrat Hillary Clinton.