Lisa Murkowski

Lisa Murkowski becomes the third member of the GOP Senate caucus, along with Susan Collins and Scott Brown, to endorse a repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." The Alaska senator says in a statement: "my support for moving the Defense Authorization bill forward, which includes a repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, will depend on whether the majority allows for an open and fair amendment process. This is a weighty, policy-laden bill that normally takes several weeks to debate and amend.

The other day the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that election officials could provide a list of write-in candidates to voters who asked for it (a lower court judge had ruled officials could not do this). In protest, more than 100 Alaskans have registered as write-in candidates: 

Senator Lisa Murkowski, the write-in candidate in the Alaska Senate race against Republican Joe Miller and Democrat Scott McAdams, oozed with contempt for Miller during a debate last night, which was televised on Alaska's KTUU:

MURKOWSKI: Scott is not ready to lead. Joe is not fit to lead. I have been leading this state [crowd boos]--I have been leading this state for 8 years. And I will continue to do so, bringing the seniority that I have built, the work ethic that I have built, and the passion for a state that I love.

CNN asks likely voters in Alaska:

If the election for U.S. Senate were held today and the candidates were Scott McAdams, the Democrat and Joe Miller, the Republican, who would you be more likely to vote for or would you write in the name of Lisa Murkowski, who is also running?

The results:

Miller 38%

Murkowski 36%

McAdams 22%

1. A Pledge To America.  That’s the title of a leaked draft of the Republican congressional agenda. As it currently is outlined, "A Pledge To America" contains four main sections: a plan to jumpstart the economy, cut spending, repeal Obamacare, and reform Congress.  It does a very good job of laying out and defending the basic Republican philosophy, and then applies it to the contemporary political scene by offering some specific proposals.

1. The limits of base politics. Yesterday, I noted the apparent decision of the Obama White House to focus aggressively on mobilizing its base in advance of the midterm.  I concluded that the pursuit of this strategy so late in the cycle suggests party leaders recognize that the House is slipping away. I want to expand on that here.

The AP reports that Lisa Murkowski could ruin GOP plans to hold on to her seat:

A week after conceding the GOP primary, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she's not a quitter and is "still in this game."

Freshman Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), who beat Ted Stevens in 2008, says the national party shouldn't be counting out Lisa Murkowski's seat in his home state. They just need a little faith:

In the wake of Joe Miller's upset over Lisa Murkowski in Alaska's GOP Senate primary, there's been a lot of buzz for Delaware GOP Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell, who is challenging moderate GOP congressman Mike Castle in the September 14 primary. This week, the Tea Party Express endorsed O'Donnell, a former conservative activist who has worked at the Republican National Committee, Concerned Women for America, and the Savior's Alliance for Lifting the Truth.

Alaska's soon-to-be-former senator Lisa Murkowski only won election in 2004 with 49 percent of the vote. Still, given the fact that 2010 seems to be a much stronger year for Republicans than 2004, you might think Joe Miller would poll better than 50% to 44% against Democratic nominee Scott McAdams (whose name the DNC's spokesman didn't know last week).

CNN reports: "Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski conceded in the Alaska GOP senatorial primary which remained unresolved after last Tuesday's voting." Joe Miller will almost certainly be Alaska's next senator.

The Anchorage Daily News is live-blogging the counting of 25,000 absentee and questioned ballots in the Alaska Senate GOP primary between Joe Miller and Lisa Murkowski. Miller started off the day with a 1,668-vote lead. After 6,000 ballots were counted, his lead now stands at 1,294.

ADN reports: