Lisa Murkowski

Lisa Murkowski
Official portrait, 2017
Lisa Murkowski
Born	Lisa Ann Murkowski 22 5, 1957
Birthplace	Ketchikan, Alaska, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Attorney, politician
Title	United States Senator from Alaska
Known for	Senior U.S. Senator from Alaska; first woman to represent Alaska in U.S. Congress; 2010 write-in campaign victory
Education	Juris Doctor, Willamette University College of Law
Awards	Chair, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (2015–2021); Chair, Senate Indian Affairs Committee (2025–present)
Website	[https://www.murkowski.senate.gov Official site]

Lisa Ann Murkowski (born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the senior United States senator from Alaska since December 2002. The first woman to represent Alaska in the United States Congress and the first Alaskan-born member of Congress, Murkowski has built a political career defined by an independent streak uncommon in an era of increasing partisan polarization. The daughter of former U.S. Senator and Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski, she was initially appointed to her Senate seat by her father when he vacated it to assume the governorship — a decision that generated significant controversy at the time. She has since won election in her own right four times, most notably in 2010, when she mounted a successful write-in campaign after losing the Republican primary, becoming only the second senator since 1954 to win a general election as a write-in candidate. Murkowski has served in a number of leadership roles in the Senate, including as chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee from 2015 to 2021 and as chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee since January 2025. She is frequently identified as one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate and has been a notable swing vote on major legislation and judicial nominations throughout her tenure.

Early Life

Lisa Ann Murkowski was born on May 22, 1957, in Ketchikan, Alaska, making her the first Alaskan-born member of the United States Congress when she later entered federal office. She is the daughter of Frank Murkowski, who served as a U.S. senator from Alaska from 1981 to 2002 before becoming the state's governor, and Nancy (née Gore) Murkowski. Growing up in a politically active family in Alaska, Murkowski was exposed from an early age to public service and the unique challenges facing residents of America's largest and most sparsely populated state.

The Murkowski family has roots in both Alaska and the broader Pacific Northwest. Lisa Murkowski spent portions of her childhood in several Alaskan communities, including Fairbanks, Wrangell, and Juneau, as her father pursued careers in banking and then politics. The experience of growing up across different communities in Alaska gave her familiarity with the diverse geographic, economic, and cultural landscapes of the state, from its urban centers to its remote rural and Native villages — knowledge that would later inform her approach to policymaking on issues such as energy development, natural resources, and Indigenous affairs.

Her father's election to the U.S. Senate in 1980, when Lisa was twenty-three years old, further immersed the family in the world of national politics. Frank Murkowski went on to serve in the Senate for over two decades, rising to become chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee — the same committee his daughter would later chair.

Education

Murkowski attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1980. She then pursued a legal education, enrolling at the Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Oregon, where she earned her Juris Doctor degree in 1985.

After completing law school, Murkowski was admitted to the Alaska Bar and practiced commercial law in Anchorage. She worked in private legal practice for several years, focusing on areas including prior appropriation doctrine related to water rights and other matters relevant to Alaska's resource-dependent economy. Her legal background would later inform her work on energy and natural resources policy in the state legislature and the U.S. Senate. During her time at Georgetown, she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.

Career

Alaska House of Representatives (1999–2002)

Murkowski began her career in elected office in 1998, when she won a seat in the Alaska House of Representatives, representing a district in Anchorage. She took office in January 1999 and served in the state legislature until her appointment to the U.S. Senate in December 2002. During her time in the Alaska House, Murkowski served on several committees and focused on issues pertinent to the state, including resource development, fiscal policy, and the needs of rural communities. Her tenure in the state legislature was relatively brief but provided her with legislative experience and a public profile within Alaska politics prior to her elevation to the federal level.

Appointment to the U.S. Senate (2002)

In November 2002, Lisa Murkowski's father, Frank Murkowski, was elected Governor of Alaska. His election required him to resign his U.S. Senate seat, and under Alaska law, the governor had the authority to appoint a successor. On December 20, 2002, Governor Frank Murkowski appointed his daughter to fill the vacancy, a decision that provoked considerable public criticism and accusations of nepotism. The appointment was legal but politically controversial; Alaska subsequently changed its law so that Senate vacancies would be filled through a special election process rather than gubernatorial appointment, partly in response to the backlash generated by the Murkowski appointment.

Lisa Murkowski became the first Alaskan-born member of Congress and the first woman to represent Alaska in the U.S. Congress upon taking office. She completed the remainder of her father's unexpired term, which ran through January 2005, and was tasked with quickly establishing herself as an independent voice to counter perceptions that she owed her position solely to familial connections.

2004 Election

Murkowski ran for a full six-year Senate term in 2004. The race proved competitive, as she faced former Governor Tony Knowles, a Democrat, in the general election. The campaign was closely watched, with questions about the legitimacy of her appointment continuing to shadow her candidacy. Murkowski won the election with approximately 48.6% of the vote, defeating Knowles, who received about 45.5%. The victory, though narrow, gave Murkowski a mandate independent of her father's appointment and solidified her position as Alaska's junior senator.

2010 Primary Defeat and Write-In Victory

The 2010 election cycle represented a defining chapter in Murkowski's career. In the Republican primary held in August 2010, she was challenged by Joe Miller, an attorney backed by the Tea Party movement and endorsed by former Governor Sarah Palin. Miller defeated Murkowski in the primary by a narrow margin, a result that shocked the Alaska political establishment.

Rather than accept the primary loss as the end of her Senate career, Murkowski announced that she would run as a write-in candidate in the November general election — a strategy widely considered to be extremely difficult, as write-in candidates face the logistical challenge of requiring voters to correctly spell or identify their name on the ballot. Before Murkowski, no senator had won a write-in campaign since Strom Thurmond in 1954.

Murkowski explored the possibility of running on the Libertarian Party ticket but ultimately decided on the write-in approach after Libertarian Party officials expressed reservations about the arrangement. Her campaign organized an extensive grassroots effort to educate voters on how to cast a write-in ballot, distributing wristbands and other materials bearing the correct spelling of her name.

On election night, the write-in vote total exceeded those of both Miller (the Republican nominee) and Democrat Scott McAdams, but the outcome was not immediately certified due to challenges over the interpretation of individual write-in ballots. Miller launched legal challenges contesting ballots where voters had misspelled Murkowski's name or made minor errors, arguing that such ballots should be disqualified. The Alaska Division of Elections, however, applied a standard of voter intent in evaluating the ballots.

The legal battles extended for weeks after the election. A federal judge rejected Miller's challenge to the state's ballot-counting procedures. The Alaska Supreme Court also ruled against Miller, upholding the election results. Murkowski was officially declared the winner, making her only the second U.S. senator in over half a century to win election via write-in ballot.

2016 and 2022 Reelections

Murkowski was reelected in 2016 and again in 2022. The 2022 election was conducted under Alaska's new ranked-choice voting system, which replaced the traditional partisan primary with an open primary sending the top four candidates to a ranked-choice general election. Murkowski advanced through the open primary and prevailed in the general election, demonstrating her continued appeal to a broad cross-section of Alaskan voters, including Republicans, independents, and some Democrats.

Committee Leadership

Throughout her Senate tenure, Murkowski has held a number of significant committee positions. She served as ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee from 2009 to 2015, before becoming chair of the committee in January 2015, a position she held until February 2021. As chair, she oversaw legislation related to energy policy, public lands management, water resources, and mineral development — issues of particular importance to Alaska's resource-dependent economy.

Murkowski served as vice chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee from February 2021 to January 2025 and became chair of the committee in January 2025, succeeding Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii. In this role, she oversees federal policy affecting Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities. Given Alaska's large Indigenous population, this chairmanship carries particular significance for her constituents.

She also served as vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference from June 2009 to September 2010, a leadership position within the Republican caucus.

Legislative Record and Key Votes

Murkowski has frequently positioned herself as an independent voice within the Republican caucus, willing to break with party leadership on significant votes. Her voting record reflects a pattern of moderation, particularly on social issues, judicial nominations, and certain fiscal matters.

In 2013, according to CQ Roll Call, Murkowski voted with President Barack Obama's position 72.3% of the time, making her one of only two Republican senators to support the Obama administration's position more than 70% of the time that year.

On judicial nominations, Murkowski has broken with her party on several high-profile occasions. In 2018, she opposed the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, becoming one of the few Republicans to do so. In 2022, she supported the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, crossing party lines again.

In February 2021, during the second impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, Murkowski was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump on the charge of incitement of insurrection following the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Alaska Republican Party subsequently censured her for the vote.

On fiscal policy, Murkowski was a pivotal Republican vote for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 during the first Trump administration. In 2025, she was again a key vote for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act during the second Trump administration.

Recent Activity (2025–2026)

In early 2026, Murkowski continued to demonstrate her willingness to diverge from the Republican mainstream on issues she considered matters of principle. She publicly opposed President Trump's SAVE Act, which sought to impose new restrictions on voting, arguing that protecting election integrity should not come at the cost of voter access, particularly in rural and tribal communities.

In February 2026, following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down portions of President Trump's tariff agenda, Murkowski applauded the decision, characterizing it as a "firm reminder" of the limits of presidential power.

In January 2026, Murkowski and Senator Thom Tillis became the first Republican members of Congress to call for the resignation of Kristi Noem as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. She also criticized ICE operations in the wake of a fatal shooting in Minneapolis, stating that federal immigration officers "do not have carte blanche" while carrying out enforcement operations.

Murkowski also threatened to use congressional "tools" to block President Trump's efforts regarding Greenland, expressing strong opposition to any unilateral move to acquire the territory.

Personal Life

Murkowski is married to Verne Martell, whom she married in 1987. The couple has two sons. The family resides in Anchorage, Alaska. Murkowski has maintained a relatively private personal life throughout her political career, keeping the focus of her public persona on policy matters and her work in the Senate.

As a lifelong Alaskan, Murkowski has emphasized her connection to the state and its unique character throughout her career. She became the dean of Alaska's congressional delegation following the death of longtime Representative Don Young in 2022, a role that carries informal significance as the senior member of the state's representatives in Congress.

Recognition

Murkowski's 2010 write-in victory is considered one of the most remarkable electoral achievements in modern American political history. The feat of winning a Senate seat as a write-in candidate — requiring voters to physically write her name on the ballot — had not been accomplished since Strom Thurmond's 1954 write-in campaign in South Carolina. The victory cemented Murkowski's reputation for political resilience and her ability to maintain a broad coalition of support among Alaska voters.

Her leadership of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee from 2015 to 2021 placed her at the center of national debates over energy policy, public lands management, and climate change. As chair, she was involved in crafting bipartisan energy legislation and navigating the competing interests of resource extraction industries and environmental conservation.

Murkowski has been recognized for her bipartisan approach and willingness to work across the aisle on issues including healthcare, Indigenous affairs, and judicial nominations. Her votes against party orthodoxy on the Kavanaugh nomination, the Trump impeachment trial, and the Jackson nomination have drawn both praise from moderates and criticism from conservative elements of the Republican Party. The Alaska Republican Party's decision to censure her following her impeachment conviction vote underscored the tensions between her independent approach and the direction of the national party.

As chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee since 2025, Murkowski has continued to focus on issues affecting Alaska Native and Native American communities, including healthcare, education, and self-governance.

Legacy

Lisa Murkowski's legacy in American politics is characterized by several distinct elements: her status as the first woman and first Alaskan-born individual to represent Alaska in Congress, her historic 2010 write-in election victory, and her consistent willingness to break with Republican Party leadership on matters of principle.

Her career has reflected the particular political dynamics of Alaska, a state where independence, resource policy, and the concerns of remote and Indigenous communities carry outsized importance. Murkowski's ability to maintain electoral viability despite repeated clashes with the national Republican Party — including her censure by the state party and primary challenges from the right — speaks to her personal political brand and the distinctive character of Alaska's electorate.

Her tenure as chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee positioned her as a central figure in national energy and public lands policy during a period of significant debate over the role of fossil fuels, renewable energy development, and climate change mitigation. Her subsequent leadership of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee has extended her influence on federal policy affecting Indigenous communities.

As of 2026, Murkowski is the Senate's second-most senior Republican woman and continues to serve as a pivotal swing vote on major legislation, judicial confirmations, and executive branch oversight. Her ongoing willingness to challenge her own party's positions — including her opposition to the SAVE Act, her calls for the resignation of Cabinet officials, and her criticisms of presidential overreach on tariffs and territorial acquisition — has maintained her profile as one of the most independent members of the United States Senate.