U.S. Senate race: Incumbent Lisa Murkowski, Republican

As an Alaskan, born in Ketchikan and raised in communities across our great state, this is home. My husband and I raised our sons here. It is a great privilege to work and fight each day for Alaska and the people that I love.

Alaskans' resilience and pioneering spirit remain our greatest strengths. Together, we can continue to champion responsible development and smart policies to ensure Alaska remains a place we love to call home. A place that always promises a better future for the next generation.

My commitment to Alaska begins with listening to you. The hopes and concerns I hear from Alaskans from Barrow to Bethel and Kenai to Ketchikan determine the priorities I dedicate my time to in the Senate.

[Alaska's US Senate candidates don't agree on much]

That's why I've traveled to more than 150 communities across our great state in my past term alone. It's why I've invited more than 60 Alaskans to testify before the energy committee, which I chair for Alaska. And it's why I am committed to building the consensus necessary for our voices to resonate in Congress.

This approach has served Alaska well, even when the odds have been stacked against us. I work across the aisle with anyone to do what is right for Alaska. As I learned from my mentor and friend, the late Sen. Ted Stevens, it's important to put politics aside to do what's best for Alaska.

I have worked with conservatives to protect our privacy rights. I have worked with Democrats to protect our fishermen from burdensome Environmental Protection Agency regulations. And I have collaborated with independents to raise awareness about the strategic importance of the Arctic.

I haven't done this alone, but in collaboration with our congressional delegation as part of a strong team that gives everything for Alaska.

Our successful efforts to stop the Obama administration's defense cuts brought new technology, aircraft and weapon systems to our state to ensure Alaska remains on the front lines of America's defense strategy.

In addition to keeping the 4-25 paratroopers at Joint Base Elemendord-Richardson, we brought two F-35 squadrons to Eielson Air Force Base and a battalion of Apache helicopters to Fort Wainwright to keep us at the leading edge of national security and create thousands of new jobs in Alaska.

[Murkowski aims for middle ground on energy bill]

We pushed through new oil production in NPR-A to help refill the trans-Alaska pipeline, secured an exemption from the EPA's Clean Power Plan to avoid higher energy costs, and wrote what stands to be the first major energy policy reform bill in a decade.

We convinced the federal government to get serious about our status as an Arctic nation, and secured $1 billion in the Senate for the construction of a new heavy-duty icebreaker.

To protect our world-class fisheries, we fought "Frankenfish" every step of the way, and won new labeling requirements to protect consumers.

We have empowered our rural communities through improved drinking water systems, greater broadband access, and lower energy costs.

Those are just a few of our achievements for Alaskans. As we look to a new administration, I continue to pursue a full agenda for Alaska, including greater resource production, lower health care and energy costs, better care for our veterans, and deficit reduction.

At a time when the federal government is seeking to take greater control of our lives, Alaska needs strong, effective leadership. I know what it takes to get the job done, and for as long as I have the honor of representing you, I will stand with Alaska. Always.

This Election Day, I respectfully ask for your vote. Let's continue what we have started – together, as Alaskans, to ensure that our best and brightest days are still ahead.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski is a lifelong Alaskan and the first Alaska-born U.S. senator. Murkowski is Alaska's senior representative in the Senate, and chairman of both the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Appropriations Interior-Environment Subcommittee. She holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Georgetown University and a law degree from Willamette University College of Law. She is married to Verne Martell, with whom she has two sons.

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