Lisa Murkowski
Independent-minded Republicanism, Alaska resource and Native issues, bipartisan compromise, and institutional norms.
Lisa Murkowski was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2002 and has been reelected repeatedly since. She is known for breaking with her party on select high-profile votes and for focusing on Alaska-specific energy, land, and Native affairs. She serves on committees dealing with appropriations, energy, and Indian affairs.
The strongest case
Murkowski presents herself as a legislator who answers to Alaskans rather than party leadership, willing to cross the aisle when she judges the evidence or her constituents warrant it. Supporters point to her survival as a write-in candidate as proof she can build a genuinely cross-partisan coalition and legislate on the merits rather than the party line.
And against
Critics note that Murkowski's independence is selective, often surfacing on votes where her position is not decisive to the outcome, which raises questions about how much political risk she actually absorbs. Others argue her attempts to occupy the middle leave her positions on contested issues ambiguous, making it hard to hold a consistent record to account.
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On the record
On February 13, 2021, Murkowski was one of seven Republican senators who voted “Guilty” in the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. [source]