Poll Reveals Lisa Murkowski Underwater with Alaska GOP Voters as Primary Nears

The polling comes as Murkowski, who is supported by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), hopes to defeat Donald Trump-endorsed Kelly Tshibaka in the August 16 Republican primary. In March polling, Murkowski trailed Tshibaka (45.4 to 28.7 percent).

Donald Trump-endorsed Kelly Tshibaka

Murkowski’s campaign has been flooded with donations from large political action groups. Murkowski ended the second quarter with $6.1 million in her campaign account with a second quarter raise of $1.7 million. In contrast, Tshibaka has $1.1 million on hand and raised about $585,000 last quarter. Tshibaka’s campaign has raised a total $3.1 million.

McConnell, an ardent defender of the established order in Washington, DC, is one reason Murkowski has fundraised better than Tshibaka. “It’s important for Lisa to be reelected. She’s one of the few sort of moderates in the middle of the Senate,” McConnell said of his colleague in April. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure she’s successful.”

But the pressure on Murkowski is mounting after she backed many Democrat priorities in the Senate, including implementing gun control, confirming Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, attempting to impeach former President Donald Trump, and helping President Biden pass massive spending bills.