Former President Donald Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr., have endorsed Alaska Republican Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka, even after former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin hinted that she might join the race to defeat Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in 2022.
Murkowski is a centrist Republican who is an outspoken critic of Trump.
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Trump Jr. released a fundraising appeal Friday evening showing his support for Tshibaka, the former state commissioner who got the official endorsement from the former President during his rally last month.
On Saturday, Palin, the former governor of Alaska who also ran for the Republican party’s 2008 vice presidential nominee, was at a leadership conference hosted by the Harvest International Ministry and Latino Coalition for Israel, when she said that “If God wants me to” run for Senate, “I will.”
During the conversation, Palin has also talked about the challenge she may face competing with Tshibaka, who Trump referred to as “the candidate who can beat Murkowski.
“You know, there’s a female Republican who’s already jumped in the race. Kind of the scary thing is that I’ve been in politics all my life, up in Alaska, and I’d never heard of her, so that made me hesitant,” Palin said.
Experts think that Palin’s bid could complicate the midterm election for the GOP as the votes could be divided among multiple candidates.
After recent election law changes, Alaska will start an all-party primary next year, having every candidate from all of the parties running together in a so-called “jungle primary” like they have in California. If no candidate receives 50% of the vote during the primary, the top four candidates from their designated parties will all automatically proceed to the general election.
If Palin decides to run for Senate, Republican votes will split between Murkowski, Tshibaka and Palin, possibly giving a greater chance to a Democratic side.
Neither Trump nor his son has commented about a potential Palin run.
