Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) suggested she may be open to caucusing with Democrats, although she said that the Democratic Party is not “much better” than the Republican Party.
Speaking to Galen Druke of the “GD Politics” podcast, Murkowski was asked if she would be open to becoming an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats. The Republican responded, “It’s an interesting hypothetical,” noting that she may consider the idea “if this would help Alaskans.”
“My problem with your hypothetical is that as challenged as I think we may be on the Republican side, I don’t see the Democrats being much better,” Murkowski said. “And they’ve got not only their share of problems, but quite honestly, they’ve got some policies that I just inherently disagree with.”
Discussing ranked-choice voting and coalition governments, Murkowski added, “There’s some openness to exploring something different than the status quo.”
Similarly, Murkowski told Semafor in an interview ahead of the release of her new book, “Far from Home: An Alaskan Senator Faces the Extreme Climate of Washington, D.C,” that she “would be not being honest with you if I said I’ve never been asked … ‘Why don’t you switch?’ Or people have said, ‘You should switch.’”
“Do I feel that within my Republican conference, I always feel like I’m right here in my political home? No,” she said. “There’s sometimes directions and policies that I disagree with.”
In April, President Trump called out Murkowski on Truth Social, urging her and other GOP lawmakers to “get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change.”
