Press Release

Maggie's List, a conservative PAC trying to increase the number of like-minded women serving in Congress, announced Wednesday that it was endorsing GOP challenger Kelly Tshibaka over Republican Alaska incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

''I am extremely proud to be endorsed by Maggie's List,'' Tshibaka said in a post on Twitter on Wednesday. ''The first time the group has endorsed a challenger to a female Republican incumbent. It's time to show the next generation of strong, conservative women that they too can achieve leadership roles.''

Tshibaka is one of three Republicans challenging the senior senator, who has served the state in the seat since being appointed in 2002, in the 2022 election.

The New York Times reported in November that former President Donald Trump was endorsing Tshibaka after Murkowski voted to convict him at his second impeachment trial, and for voting for President Joe Biden's appointee, Deb Haaland, as secretary of the interior.

''Lisa Murkowski is bad for Alaska,'' the Times quoted Trump as saying in November. ''Murkowski has got to go!''

While Murkowski has the endorsement of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, she was censured by Alaska's Republican Party for her vote to convict Trump in the Senate, saying it ''did not want her identifying as a Republican'' in the 2022 contest, the Times report said.

Murkowski was one of seven GOP senators that voted against Trump and told Politico in February that she could not ''devalue'' that vote based on her political ambitions or fallout.

''If I can't say what I believe that our president should stand for, then why should I ask Alaskans to stand with me?'' Murkowski told Politico. ''This was consequential on many levels, but I cannot allow the significance of my vote, to be devalued by whether or not I feel that this is helpful for my political ambitions.''

A spokesman for the Maggie's List PAC said it believes Tshibaka has the best chance to win the ranked election in November.

''Conservative candidates have an important mission in the 2022 elections — to regain control of both houses of Congress and we at Maggie's List believe that our endorsed candidates present the best opportunity to win their respective elections in November," Jennifer Carroll, a former Florida lieutenant governor and Maggie's List national spokesperson, said in the announcement Wednesday.

According to Tshibaka's website, she worked as commissioner of administration for Gov. Mike Dunleavy and has spent her career exposing fraud and abuse in government before running for office herself.

''I am grateful for the endorsement of Maggie's List because it shows that a new generation of strong, conservative women are taking leading roles in rescuing people from the excesses of a runaway and overreaching federal government,'' Tshibaka said.

''My parents fought their way out of homelessness, into the working class, and to send their little girl to college. As a U.S. Senator, I will fight so all Alaskans can have the same opportunities that my parents and I had — to work good paying jobs, put a roof over their heads, and pursue the 'American Dream' once again.''

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