Alaska Sen. Murkowski toys with bid for governor, defends vote supporting Trump's tax breaks package

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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, speaking with Alaska reporters Monday, toyed with the idea of running for governor and defended her recent high-profile decision to vote in support of President Donald Trump's tax breaks and spending cuts bill.

Murkowski, speaking from Anchorage, said “sure” when asked if she has considered or is considering a run for governor. She later said her response was “a little bit flippant” because she gets asked that question so often.

“Would I love to come home? I have to tell you, of course I would love to come home,” she said. “I am not making any decisions about anything, because my responsibility to Alaskans is my job in the Senate right now.”

Several Republicans already have announced plans to run in next year's governor's race, including Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy is not eligible to seek a third consecutive term. Alaska has an open primary system and ranked choice voting in general elections.

Murkowski is not up for reelection until 2028.

A centrist, Murkowski has become a closely watched figure in a sharply divided Congress. She has at times been at odds with her party in her criticism of Trump and blasted by some GOP voters as a “Republican in name only.” But her decision to support Trump's signature bill last month also frustrated others in a state where independents comprise the largest number of registered voters. She previously described her decision-making process around the bill as “agonizing.”

On Monday, she said it was clear to her the bill was not only a priority of Trump's but also that it was going to pass, so it became important to her to help make it as advantageous to the state as she could.

“So I did everything within my power — as one lawmaker from Alaska — to try to make sure that the most vulnerable in our state would not be negatively impacted,” she said. “And I had a hard choice to make, and I think I made the right choice for Alaskans.”