US President Donald Trump reacts on stage at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla, Alaska, US, October 13, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
A Republican senator who has repeatedly clashed with President Donald Trump just undercut his pick in a closely watched governor's race.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) endorsed Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state lawmaker, in Alaska's gubernatorial race on Tuesday, NBC News reported. The endorsement passes over Bernadette Wilson, the Republican Trump endorsed earlier this month, with Election Day just one week away.
In an interview with KTUU, NBC's Anchorage affiliate, Murkowski called Kreiss-Tomkins "a commonsense guy who has a known ability to be working together." She argued that all three Republicans on the state's ranked-choice ballot are too partisan.
"We need a governor who's going to work with the Legislature," she said. "That has got to happen for the delegation to be successful back in Washington, D.C."
The senator also voiced doubts that Wilson would ever be willing to work with Democrats.
Kreiss-Tomkins told the station he was thankful for the backing. "I have a lot of respect for Lisa, her integrity," he said, adding that he admires her record of working across the aisle in Congress. He said the two had spoken a few times during the campaign.
Wilson dismissed the endorsement in a statement, claiming Murkowski "abandoned Alaska values a long time ago." She mocked her opponent as "'Just Keep Taxing' JKT" and accused him of loyalty to "extreme socialists hellbent on fighting President Trump."
The crowded field to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy also includes former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and former state Attorney General Treg Taylor. The NBC News Decision Desk rates the contest as leaning Democratic in a state Trump carried in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
Murkowski, who does not face voters again until 2028, has backed fellow Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan in his own competitive reelection fight against Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman. That race also features a candidate named Dan J. Sullivan Jr.
Last week, the Trump administration sued Alaska election officials, arguing the second Sullivan's spot on the ballot could mislead voters. Murkowski pushed back on X, writing that "Alaskans don't need any help voting for their preferred candidates."
Trump lashed out at her on social media the following day, branding her the "Republicans' Worst Senator, by far."
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