Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorses Democrat in Alaska governor’s race

Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorsed the Democratic candidate for governor in her home state of Alaska on Tuesday, snubbing GOP contenders who include a Trump-backed candidate a week out from Election Day. Murkowski, one of President Donald Trump’s more vocal critics among Senate Republicans, said she is backing Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins over Bernadette Wilson, who has Trump’s endorsement. “JKT is a young Alaskan with a view and a perspective that I think Alaska needs right now — a freshness of energy, a commonsense guy who has a known ability to be working together,” she said in an interview on NBC affiliate KTUU of Anchorage. Murkowski said she believes the three Republican gubernatorial candidates on the ballot in Alaska, which has ranked choice voting, 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.” Kreiss-Tompkins, a former state lawmaker, told KTUU he was grateful for Murkowski’s support. “I have a lot of respect for Lisa, her integrity. I think she’s worked across the aisle in Congress, which is a quality I really admire and hope to live up to if I’m elected governor,” he said. “And I’m very grateful that she wanted to step up and be a part of the coalition