(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is considering leaving the Republican Party amid the resurgence of former President Donald Trump as the presumptive GOP nominee for president.
In an interview with CNN on Monday, Murkowski expressed disappointment that Republican voters had chosen Trump as their nominee for the 2024 election.
“I wish that as Republicans, we had … a nominee that I could get behind,” Murkowski said, declining to endorse Trump. “I certainly can’t get behind Donald Trump.”
When asked if she would switch to becoming independent, she responded, “Oh, I think I’m very independent minded.” She further added: “I just regret that our party is seemingly becoming a party of Donald Trump.”
When pressed further by CNN, she retorted: “I am navigating my way through some very interesting political times. Let’s just leave it at that.”
During the primary election, Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, endorsed the campaign of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Their endorsement proved unsuccessful as Haley dropped out just days later.
If Murkowski were to depart from the Republican Party, it would deal a severe blow to conservatives, especially if the majority is held by a slim margin. Three Democrat senators are facing re-election in Republican states.
However, such a move would likely not come as a surprise. Murkowski has earned a reputation as an infamous RINO (“Republican in Name Only”) after voting to convict Trump in the Jan. 6 impeachment trial in 2021, opposing the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in 2018 and backing Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2022.
Murkowski entered the Senate following a controversial appointment by her father, Frank Murkowski, in 2002.
At the time, her father served as the senator for Alaska but successfully campaigned for governor. After his win, he appointed Murkowski to succeed him, a move that critics viewed as a blatant example of nepotism.
That term concluded in 2005, with Murkowski winning a full term the same year. She was re-elected in 2010, 2016 and 2022, the latter being a narrow victory in a primary challenge against Kelly Tshibaka.
Her current terms end in 2029.
