Senator Lisa Murkowski

Lisa Ann Murkowski has represented Alaska in the United States Senate since 2002 and is the senior senator from the state. She is the first woman to represent Alaska in Congress and has cultivated a reputation as one of the chamber’s most independent Republicans, often prioritizing Alaska’s interests over party pressure.

Murkowski entered statewide prominence after serving in the Alaska House of Representatives beginning in 1999, where she rose into leadership and focused on military and veterans issues as well as state economic policy. In 2002 she was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill a vacancy and later won election in her own right, building a long tenure defined by committee influence and Alaska centered pragmatism.

Her electoral history includes one of the most notable general election victories in modern Senate politics. After losing the 2010 Republican primary, she ran a write in campaign and won the general election, demonstrating a durable personal brand and a coalition that reaches beyond the Republican base. She later won reelection in 2016 and 2022, navigating Alaska’s changing political landscape.

In Washington, Murkowski is closely associated with energy and natural resources policy, appropriations bargaining, and Alaska Native and rural priorities. She has also been a high profile swing vote on major nominations and institutional flashpoints, pairing a pro development orientation with periodic breaks from party orthodoxy on governance and rule of law questions.

Moderate Republican