Murkowski maintains significant fundraising lead over Tshibaka in U.S. Senate race

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is leading her Trump-backed GOP opponent Kelly Tshibaka in the fundraising effort by a wide margin ahead of the 2022 U.S. Senate race. Murkowski, widely seen as a moderate, raised $1.2 million in contributions during the last quarter. In the same period, Tshibaka raised just over $600,000.

Murkowski had $4.2 million in the bank heading into the New Year over Tshibaka’s $630,000.

Tshibaka will have an opportunity to raise the stakes with a fundraiser hosted by former President Donald Trump scheduled later this month at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, in what has become a rite of passage for many Trump-endorsed Republicans.

In a statement, Tshibaka’s campaign noted that more than half of her contributions in 2021 came from inside Alaska, and her cash on hand heading into 2022 “is more than Murkowski has faced at this point in any of her races.”

Murkowski’s campaign was not available for immediate comment.

Libertarian candidate Sean Thorne raised $1,762 in the last quarter. He had $672 in the bank.

Democrats have yet to enter the races for U.S. Senate and U.S. House. Candidates have until June 1 to join the race ahead of the primary that will be held in August.

Republican challenger Nick Begich III out-raised incumbent Don Young during the last three months of 2021 in the race for Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House, thanks to a hefty injection of Begich’s own cash, recent federal election commission reports show.

Begich loaned his campaign $150,000 right after he announced he was entering the race in October, bringing his total fundraising for the last quarter of 2021 to just over $300,000, compared to Young’s $165,000 in the same period. Begich also covered more than $20,000 of the campaigns expenses such as lodging and travel in what is known as in-kind donations.

But Young raised more money overall in 2021 — a total of $570,000. And he still has far more cash on hand to spend on the race in the coming months, along with nearly five decades of experience on the campaign trail. By the end of 2021, Begich had spent over $70,000, bringing his cash on hand to under $230,000. Young had $630,000 left in the bank.

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Begich, grandson of former U.S. House member Nick Begich Sr., is the executive chairman of software development company FarShore Partners. While his grandfather was a Democrat, Begich is running as a Republican “a little to the right” of Young, Begich has said.

Truman Reed, a spokesperson for the campaign, said that Begich is “a very committed candidate that’s willing to put in some of his money” towards the goal of unseating Young, who has served in the U.S. House for nearly 50 years — longer than Begich has been alive.

Young’s $165,000 in contributions during the last quarter of 2021 is less than what Young brought in during the same quarter leading up to the 2020 election, when he raised more than $214,000.

Young spokesman Matt Shuckerow said that difference is due to Young “working really hard” in Congress.

Reed said Alaskans are increasingly critical of Young’s recent voting record, including his support for the federal infrastructure bill last year, and his spotty attendance record.

Reed served as campaign manager for Young’s 2020 campaign. Begich served as Young’s campaign co-chair at the time.

Shuckerow said the comments from Begich’s campaign attacking Young are “hard to understand” given Begich’s history of supporting Young in the past.

“We’re seeing people who are trying to make this race very negative,” Shuckerow said. “The Congressman is running a positive race.”

The comments came after the Begich campaign sent a fundraising email last week claiming that Young requires his congressional office staff members to comply with a vaccine mandate and that a staff member was fired over his unwillingness to be vaccinated.

In the fundraising email, the Begich campaign slammed Young for believing “he and others in government have the authority to make these decisions (on vaccination) for you.”

Shuckerow deferred questions on the policy to Young’s congressional staff. A spokesperson for Young did not respond to requests for comment on the policy.

Independent candidate Gregg Brelsford, who announced earlier this month that he was leaving the Republican Party over what he called Republicans’ “growing effort to compromise election integrity,” had $6,000 in the bank heading into 2022, after raising $410 in the last three months of 2021.

Alaska voters last year passed an initiative to end party primaries and institute ranked-choice voting for general elections. Under the system, the top four vote-getters in a primary race, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to the general election in November.

This story has been updated to reflect that U.S. House candidate Nick Begich loaned his campaign $150,000, rather than gifting his campaign that amount. The candidate also covered over $20,000 in campaign expenses.