In 2002, Lisa Murkowski was appointed to the Senate by her father, Frank Murkowski. Alaskan voters were so taken aback by this blatant self-dealing that the legislature passed a law preventing the governor from making a long-term appointment to the U.S. Senate. In 2006, Sarah Palin walloped Frank Murkowski by 31 points in the state's Republican primary, and recently there's been some speculation that Palin might try to take Lisa Murkowski's Senate seat in 2010. Politico reports that Sen. Murkowski is telling Palin to back off:
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has some Republican-to-Republican advice for Gov. Sarah Palin: If you want to make a run at the White House, keep your hands off my Senate seat.
Murkowski, up for reelection in 2010, is nervously awaiting word on whether John McCain's former running mate will run against her in the GOP primary. But she says Palin is the one who should be nervous.
"I can guarantee it would be a very tough election," Murkowski said in an interview.
Palin is also up for reelection in 2010. She could run for a second term as governor, but the Senate holds some obvious attractions: a national platform, and with it the chance to beef up a thin résumé and rebuild damaged credibility on foreign policy and other issues.
But Murkowski says a run against her would be fraught with risk. If Palin lost, her stock would drop just ahead of a potential 2012 presidential run. And if she won, she'd be a backbencher in a chamber that is dominated by seniority - and would have to begin her presidential campaign as soon as she took office.
"If she wants to be president, I don't think the way to the presidency is a short stop in the United States Senate," Murkowski said.
Asked Monday to respond to Murkowski's comments, Palin's communications coordinator, Kate Morgan, said only, "The governor has never stated her intention or desire to run for that office."
