As I called yesterday, rumors are now flying that Murkowski is considering a third party independent bid. Officially, Murkowski is waiting on the primary results, of course...
Trailing attorney Joe Miller by less than 1,500 votes—and with at least 8,000 more still to be counted—Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Wednesday at a press conference she would wait until all Republican primary absentee votes were counted before making any decisions about how to proceed.
Her next step is one that could have dramatic consequences for the national Republican Party in the wake of Miller’s stunning performance at the polls Tuesday.
Amid speculation that she might run as a write-in or third-party candidate if she loses—a scenario that would jeopardize control of an otherwise safely Republican seat—Murkowski told reporters in Anchorage that it was "too premature" to discuss that option.
She insisted that "it ain't over yet, folks" and that she would wait for all the absentee ballots to be counted before she made any decisions.
The tea-party-backed Miller, who also carried strong support from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, finished first Tuesday with a 51 percent to 49 percent advantage—a result that would rank as one of the year’s biggest upsets if it holds true.
Even with the outcome still in doubt Wednesday, Republicans began to assign blame for Murkowski's unexpectedly poor performance after polls as late as last week showed she would win her party's nod.
They're already preparing to throw Murkowski under the bus as a loser before she's even lost. That's because a Murkowski independent bid would almost certainly give the Democrat Scott McAdams the second Senate seat in the state and be a rare pickup for the Dems in a year where the GOP is licking its chops over the prospect of taking back both the House and Senate.
The rest of the piece goes on to slam Murkowski for not winning this race outright (Politico, natch) when she should have won easily, and the real message is Murkowski's done in Republican circles if Miller wins the primary and Murkowski doesn't 110% support him.
Of course, that would mean Murkowski would be done in politics anyway if she loses her primary, yes?
Things just got very, very interesting up north.
He may just be saying this to raise money for Miller, but Erick Erickson says there are rumors that Alaska Dems may replace McAdams on the ticket with the better-known Tony Knowles, who's an ex-governor. (Salon says it won't happen, however -- then again, Salon says Murkowski won't run third-party, which is what a lot of the smart set said about Lieberman.)
ReplyDeleteBTW, this has been one of my favorite news stories of this primary season. Republicans prove time and again that they don't value results as much as ideology... and the result is people who should be seen as firmly on the conservative side (Murkowski) are tossed to the wayside at a very expensive cost (or, conversely, folks like McCain spend $20 million to fight them off).
ReplyDeleteThe two things giving me hope of the GOP not taking over the House this November are: 1) the $50 million OFA and the Dems are spending on getting out 2008 first time voters and 2) the big advantage Dems have in terms of cash coming into Labor Day when folks start to actually pay attention. Oh why not, 3) Dem candidates are sane and pay attention to local politics (see the endorsement of Bill Owens by Scozzafava in NY-23).
The economy is in the shitter though, and likely the 112th Congress won't do shit about that.