Murkowski wins re-election in Alaska, against Trump-backed challenge

Senator Lisa Murkowski was re-elected in alaskacausing former President Donald Trump to suffer another mid-term defeat that was largely miserable for his handpicked candidates in competitive Senate races.

Murkowski, one of only seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump at the second impeachment trial, survived a challenge from Kelly Tshibaka, Trump’s endorsement, former Alaska Administration commissioner, in the state’s first Senate election decided by Vote to choose ratings.

Instead of limiting voters to one choice, this format allows candidates to be ranked in order of preference. Both Murkowski and Tshibaka who received the top two votes in first round of the November 8 general election, gaining a majority after the first selections are tabulated, triggering the voting rounds on Wednesday, in which ballots listing the eliminated candidates will be distributed. redistributed to the voters’ subsequent choices.

Murkowski, Tshibaka, Democrat Patricia Chesbro and Republican Buzz Kelley all rose from one nonpartisan August primaries. Kelley later dropped out and endorsed Tshibaka, but he was still on the ballot. Wednesday’s vote began with second-choice votes from those who liked Kelley in the last place distributed among the remaining three candidates. Next, Chesbro was disqualified and the second choice vote from her ballots helped bring Murkowski over the threshold.

From the outset, the race was largely focused on the top two Republicans and their relationship with Trump.

Tshibaka, for example, had make waves by vowing not to support another vote by Trump, Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for another term as Republican leader of the Senate if she is elected.

Murkowski became a target of the right after emerging as the rare Republican official willing to criticize Trump and ultimately convict him for what she believed he had incited a deadly uprising at the Palace. U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Republican Party of Alaska censorship she and Trump started calling her “a disaster from Alaska”, eventually supporting Tshibaka to challenge her.

Murkowski is also known for his moderate record in the Senate and his willingness to work with Democrats. She was one of only three Republicans who voted to confirm Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in April. She also won her party in other major votes under the Trump administration, voting with Democrats and several other Republicans to block GOP efforts to repeal. repeal the Affordable Care Act. In a recent time marketing campaign Summarizing his final argument, Murkowski vowed to “work with anyone, from any side, to advance Alaska’s priorities.”

Advocates of ranked-choice voting, a system that received national attention for its use in last year’s New York City mayoral election, believe setup in favor of moderate candidates who take no sides and work hardest to appeal to the widest group of people.