It’s Donald Trump’s party….
And the US Senbator for Alaska is part of the group in the Grand ole Party who are UNHAPPY with its leader ….
She isn’t the only one….
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said in an interview released on Sunday that she would not vote for former President Donald J. Trump. She also did not rule out the possibility of leaving the Republican Party.
In the interview, which Ms. Murkowski gave to CNN, she said that she would “absolutely” not support Mr. Trump in the general election in November. She said that she wished Republicans had nominated someone whom she could vote for, but that she “certainly can’t get behind Donald Trump.”
Asked whether she might leave the party and become an independent, she said that she considered herself “very independent-minded” and added, “I just regret that our party is seemingly becoming a party of Donald Trump.” But she did not give a yes-or-no answer, saying: “I am navigating my way through some very interesting political times. Let’s just leave it at that.”
If Ms. Murkowski left the Republican Party, it would be welcome news for Democrats facing a brutally difficult map in the Senate elections in November. Three of their current seats are up for election in red states, and several more are up for election in swing states. There are almost no opportunities to pick up seats currently held by Republicans, and there’s no room for error, given their very narrow majority…
…
Ms. Murkowski’s declaration that she will not vote for Mr. Trump puts her in the company of a small number of prominent anti-Trump Republicans, among them Senator Mitt Romney of Utah and former Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming…
image…The Hill
Alaska, like Maine. Vermont and Connecticut, is one of those states that can live quite happily with independents. Lisa Murkowski herself, as I recall, won her general election to the Senate after losing the Republican primary.
Who would she caucus with?
Two possible outcomes if Murkowski leaves the Republican Party…
After the 2000 election and George W Bush’s disputed victory the Senate was divided 50/50 but with Dick Cheney casting the tie breaker vote , Republicans were preparing to organize the Senate with Trent Lott as majority leader and Republican committee chairs .Enter Vermont Republican Sen. James Jefferson maybe the last of the old Rockefeller Republicans .Jeffords announced he was leaving the Republican Party, becoming an Independent and voting with the Democrats to organize the Senate.
Then recently Kyrsten Sinema, the Democratic Senator from Arizona left the Democratic Party and became an Independent but continued to side with the Democrats on organizational matters.
Few independent’s last