Breaking: Kelly Tshibaka challenges sitting Sen. Lisa Murkowski in bold rollout

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski has a serious challenger for the 2022 election. Former commissioner of Administration Kelly Tshibaka announced her candidacy on Seward’s Day, March 29. She made her announcement on Fox News early in the morning.

Her website, KellyforAK.com went live with a five-minute video that hits Murkowski hard on the issues and on being a DC insider.

Tshibaka was born and raised in Alaska, left for college. She was the acting inspector general for the Federal Trade Commission, served as counsel to the Inspector General in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and in the Office of Inspector General within the Justice Department. She was the chief data officer for the Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service Office under both former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama.

She returned to Alaska to join the Dunleavy Administration in 2017, but said that when the Alaska Republican Party censured Sen. Murkowski earlier this month, she felt it was time to step up and offer to run. Many Alaskans had suggested that she do so and there was a “draft Kelly Tshibaka” movement under way.

The Alaska Republican Party had issued the harshest censure against Murkowski that any state party has done after seven Senate Republicans voted to convict and remove President Donald Trump — after he was no longer president.

Murkowski will be a formidable challenger. She has won reelection twice and has more than $1 million in her campaign war chest for the 2022 midterm election. She also has the support of her Senate colleagues, including a surprising statement on Sunday by Sen. Dan Sullivan, who told ABC News that he would support her if she ran. Murkowski has an experienced political team, strong ties in every community in Alaska, and is a household name.

Tshibaka is not part of the political establishment and sees herself as a new voice and a new generation of Alaska conservative.

“We know what Washington, D.C. thinks about Alaska: We’re here for their benefit, and we won’t put up much of a fight. After nearly 20 years in D.C., Lisa Murkowski thinks the same way,” Tshibaka said in her campaign launch video. “But you know what? Nothing scares the D.C. political insiders more than the thought of a strong, independent Alaskan leader in their ranks. One they can’t bully. One they can’t control. One they can’t silence. I believe in a better future for Alaska. One we can rise up together and rebuild.”

Tshibaka says she is unapologetically pro-life, which distinguishes her from Murkowski.

Her timing shows bold confidence in her prospects, because most candidates who file wait until the first few days of a fundraising quarter; the next fundraising quarter starts April 1. 

Tshibaka resigned from the Dunleavy Administration before announcing.

This story will be updated. Check back.

52 COMMENTS

  1. Couldn’t happen to a nicer RINO.

    Good Luck Kelly! Hope you win in the Primary, so I do not have to vote Democrat in 2022.
    (Yes, if we are going to have a Senator that is in lock step with the Ds, I want one that admits to being a democrat.)

    • Fully agree but I don’t think we will have a primary now with the ‘reelect Lisa’ Prop 2
      (unless someone with legal skills challenges it)

    • There is no primary. Voters will pick the top 4 candidates out of all those running and then rank them on the general election ballot in November.

      • There is a near 100% probability Lisa will run as an independent anyway, so the primary is pretty much meaningless anyway even without the “re-elect the RINO” prop 2 .

  2. An impressive Resume………….but has she ever had a private sector job? Or is she just another career Bureaucrat/Politico of the Ruling Elite? If so I think we should look elsewhere as the Bureaucrats know how to pretend to be Conservative and then magically reappear as Swamp Creatures. Color me skeptical.

  3. If Trump endorses her, she has my complete support. If he doesn’t, forget it! Trump knows how these folks think and their complete history. We don’t need another Murkowski, she must have his support before I would even consider her as a replacement.

  4. Thank you for stepping up to the task. We don’t need a RINO representing Alaska. If the Murky lady wants to vote for Socialism, she can run as one. Many of us also desire to see an end to infantacide, baby Killing, in America. Good for you lady.

  5. Unfortunately she isn’t going to win. Dominion and Prop 2 guarantee that Lisa will be a senator for life. All democrats will rank her second, and that plus the actual RINOs will equal a majority

    • Not so confident about that.
      .
      The folks on the left will not allow a former (R) to win again. Once a Republican always tainted. Not unless there is some serious election reform put into law. They will manipulate prop 2 and the dominion machines to ensure Dr. Al Gross and Fiesty Elise get elected.

  6. Yep, Nepotism Poster Girl however is banking on Ranked Choice to see her through…. time to flood the zone and get as much of the Crazy Left on the ballot as possible (I’m looking at you, Begich Bros)

  7. Aside from her gig as Administration commissioner, I would like to hear some more about Ms. Tshibaka’s work experience in Alaska and her contributions to this State. I am not seeing very much. Going to Harvard and working in DC may be good training for reptiles in the swamp but isn’t going to cut it for me.

    • Exactly. And when your work experience and your perspective of yourself as an outsider are mutually exclusive there’s more than a perceptual problem on the horizon.
      .
      This woman appears to have a similar cv to those that got us here and the question is not what makes her qualified, the question is what makes her different.
      .
      Along similar lines, what is it that she proposes replace Ms. Sanger’s legacy? Has it occurred to her that this would be a social drain of monstrous proportions and that the primary customer’s of that particular service aren’t known for birthing poets, philosophers, or scientists so a gigantic investment in saving societal detritus would put us farther yet from Mr. Darwin’s ideal.
      .
      The last thing we need is another free spender feeding her pseudo-christian guilt by saving other people’s errors and if that’s an example of her best logic she’s not what Alaska needs next.
      .

  8. If you are a republican support the republican values. Alaska turned down democratic lack of love for God and countrymen and preponderance of lack of natural love of what is good. Alaska loves President Trump. That should have meant something to them. But no.

  9. She will most likely take Lisa’s position…but that’s because she’s one of them. Everyone is getting real sick of their “Great Game.” We never could get just a regular, no strings attached, non-game playing candidate and Juneau’s why everyone at street-level in Alaska HATES politics now and is ready to break away. I’d like to be refreshed but it’s impossible when it’s the same crowd with the same goal and NONE of its for the betterment of Alaska or Alaskans. or it would have been done already. Good Luck Kelly (you’ll need it when you see the BS they are all involved in, or maybe that’s why you’re “all in”).

  10. Good luck, Barbie. Lisa’s still very strong in Alaska. At least she puts ethics and conscience before party. I know where I’ll put my money.

    • At least you’re showing your true colors by employing name calling in your comment. I think you used the term “deniers” in one of your previous posts. Only a matter of time before you throw “BIPOC” out there. You’re a piece of work.

  11. Luv ya, Suzanne, but these people two statements are incongruent with one another:

    1) “She was the acting inspector general for the Federal Trade Commission, served as counsel to the Inspector General in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and in the Office of Inspector General within the Justice Department. She was the chief data officer for the Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service Office under both former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama.”

    2) “Tshibaka is not part of the political establishment and sees herself as a new voice and a new generation of Alaska conservative.”

    If that’s her resume in the first paragraph then she looks for all the world like a career part of the political establishment.

    Hope we see some more contenders come forth…

  12. “…unapologetically pro-life…”
    That wins my support right there. The rest is icing on the cake.

  13. Kelly Tshibaka : Is she a true Alaskan Conservative or just another lower 48 carpet bagger coming home only to fuel her return right back to DC? Or worst, another RINO in conservative clothing? Or even scarier, is she a “Swamp Monster”.

    Her college education was in Texas and Massachusetts (Harvard), and she was a major part of the Washington DC swamp for 17 years, including serving during the Obama Administration. Point, she only came home when offered a high post in the current AK Governor’s Administration.

    Truly, is this the best the AK Republican Party has to offer Alaskans? You know, the same Republican Party that has supported Lisa Murkowski all these years.

    Let’s realize Alaskans, as long as we are tied to the two major parties then we are and will maintain our spots as nothing more than lapdogs to the political elites.

    Live free. ~ Alaska Freedom 49’ers (Conservative Thinking Libertarians)

  14. There are no longer any primaries. Prop 2…the save-murkowski-proposition has pretty much destroyed our electoral system

  15. Is Kelly aware of the “Woke” agenda? Is she ready to fight against it?
    “De facto segregation, not de jure segregation. And segregation not based on race but based on political viewpoint. It might seem overdramatic to say that Republicans and conservatives are the new blacks, but Republicans and conservatives are now treated in “woke” America with the same derision, contempt, and second-class citizenship that blacks were in the first part of the previous century.
    I should be able to bank where I want, fly on any airline I want, and share my views on social media platforms that were set up precisely to foster communication and debate. We might need a new type of civil rights movement to combat the new political discrimination and restore equality of rights for all citizens.
    Dinesh D’Souza has had a prominent career as a writer, scholar, and public intellectual, and has also become an award-winning filmmaker. His latest book is “United States of Socialism: Who’s Behind It. Why It’s Evil. How to Stop It.”

  16. There is no primary anymore. The general election will be a four-way ranked choice race between Lisa, Kelly, a Democrat, and a third party candidate. It will use ranked choice voting. The whole new election system was designed by the Murkowski Campaign to allow Dems to siphon their votes to the RINO of least objection

  17. Lurking around the grapevine, the democrats are telling lies about her. The things the Democrat posse are saying about this woman are so ludicrous they sound and look like bald-faced lies! tThey are forced into telling lies since there isn’t anything scathingly truthful they can find. I’ll be Praying that God covers her and her family.

  18. Has anyone heard this woman’s ‘spirit voice’ video on YouTube? She will have to explain that to me if she wants my vote.

  19. Kelly is a great candidate and certainly a welcomed replacement to the turncoat Lisa Murkowski, who I can no longer support. The Little Troll Cole, Dermot, has written disparaging articles about Kelly…….having dug-up her past writings while she was a stellar student at Harvard Law. The Little Troll casted Kelly as a Christian with anti-homosexuslity leanings. Dermot focuses on negativity as his means of earning a living. Dermot is the last of the Coles, as they all went at relatively young ages. Negativity, anger, and journalistic bitterness depletes the life-giving forces, as the littlest Troll Cole attempts to ramp-up his last big game against Conservatives and Republicans.

  20. What do you want to bet prop 2 only passed by fraud ?
    Murkowski a household name? It’s not even equal to the poop I track in off my boots.

  21. I have a difficult time getting excited about any politician. Most have an ego a mile wide, dirt in their shorts, and a plan to keep stepping up the ladder. Very few have a true “servant’s heart.”

  22. Can someone answer if I only vote for one candidate on our new “ranked” ballot, no matter how many persons are listed, will my ballot will be thrown out?

  23. Eric Greitens, who announced the same day, is also a new “era of conservative.” Good luck with that.

  24. Where’s the proof that this young lady is pro-life? It will take more than “because she said so” before I start making reckless statements of support. Anybody else out there considering a run?

  25. Everyone running for office as a true conservative and republicans are just that, a true conservative and republicans until they’re not. How many time have we seen this? I’m glad someone is running against Murkowski but I just want to point out America seems to be in this mess because Americans keeps electing politicians who’s career has been in the government sector. We need private sector regular joes running for office but I get it, it is time consuming and most importantly financially draining. I do hope Tshibaka is as good as what these articles are writing about her. But again we’ve been let down time and time again as Alaskans and as Americans.

  26. This is good news, Suzanne. And thanks for staying put. We’re trying to get Lisa and her house-husband to move there for early retirement, but she wouldn’t go if she knew you had also moved there.

  27. Senator Sullivan, I promise to never vote for you again if you support Lisa Murkowski. You know Alaska is wanted her out for many reasons. She is NOT a true Republican and I am now concerned you aren’t either. After your comments and actions regarding the “insurrection” at the Capitol and placing that blame on President Trump, I am firmly out of your camp. Even your 4 page letter to explain your reasonings made no sense. You have turned into one of the DC elite swamp dwellers in my opinion. Time to say goodbye Alaska. This is where being a Marine does not cut the mustard. A true Marine would never have done what you are doing.

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