A spokesman for Murkowski did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s statement came just days after Murkowski advanced the appointment of Rep. Deb Haaland (DN.M.) to serve as secretary of the interior, which Trump called “yet another example of Murkowski 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 decide whether to support Haaland, saying she needed to reconcile the Democratic opposition to oil drilling with her native American heritage, a well-represented population in Murkowski’s home state.
Questions about the ex-president’s involvement in the primaries next year have affected the Republican Party since he stepped down. Republicans are a short distance away from regaining control of the House and Senate in next year’s evidence, but some in the party fear that Trump may hinder his path by endorsing more extreme candidates against proven moderate vote winners in undecided states or in Congress. districts.
Trump’s political team ordered a vote on the Alaskan senator, further proof of his interest in removing her. The poll, conducted from January 30 to February 1, before Murkowski voted to condemn the former president, found Murkowski to have a 43 percent favorable rating in Alaska, down from Trump’s 52 percent. The research was conducted by McLaughlin and Associates, a company that worked on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns. It was paid for by Save America, Trump’s leadership political action committee.
The president’s advisers commissioned a similar survey on Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Another advocate of Republican impeachment that Trump should target in 2022.
Trump, who received 53 percent of the vote in Alaska in the 2020 elections, has long since was fixed at Murkowski. The former president called her during her speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference last weekend, along with the other Republicans who supported her impeachment, and attacked her last year after she said she was “struggling” to decide whether supported Trump’s reelection candidacy.
The two also became involved in the Supreme Court, with Murkowski saying he was opposed to Trump nominating a replacement for the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg shortly before the election. The senator also voted against confirmation by Brett Kavanaugh.
But Trump’s statement on Saturday – along with his PAC leadership’s vote – represents a further escalation in his battle against Murkowski. This too is in stark contrast to his support for other Republican senators running for re-election in 2022. In recent days, Trump has given his endorsement to several incumbents in generally safe seats, including Senators Mike Crapo (Idaho), Tim Scott (SC), Todd Young (Ind.) and John Kennedy (La.).
Taking down Murkowski will not be easy, however. Under Alaska’s new choice-based voting system, candidates from all parties will compete in an open primary, with the top four advancing to the general election. This means that Murkowski will not face the pressure of a battle for the Republican nomination, such as the one she had in 2010. That year, Murkowski lost the Republican Party primaries to a right-wing activist, Joe Miller, but then went on to a successful essay campaign to win re-election.
But Murkowski acknowledged that his “guilty” vote on impeachment could cost him, saying that month: “I know that my actions, my vote can have political consequences. And I understand that. I understand that absolutely. But I can’t be afraid of that. “