Family Ties Boost and Burden New Alaska Senator

[goobergunch]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - When Frank Murkowski left the Senate in December to become Alaska's governor, he appointed someone to finish his term who shared "my basic philosophies, my values" -- his daughter Lisa.

Now Alaska's junior senator may be sharing the political woes of her father, whose tenure as governor has been rocky. With Republicans holding a slim one-vote majority in the U.S. Senate, Lisa Murkowski is considered one of the party's most vulnerable incumbents.

Critics blasted Gov. Murkowski's appointment as nepotism. One letter to the Anchorage Daily News likened the governor to the notorious Roman emperor Caligula, who installed his horse in the ancient Senate.

Polls show the elder Murkowski's approval ratings have nose-dived from 57 percent when he was elected to the high 30 percent range. The fall seemed to be the result of a broken no-tax promise, deep cuts in public services and inaccurate predictions about resource development riches.

more...http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=ourWorldNews&storyID=3435625

It will be tough, but I think Knowles can win this one.

[Noordam]

1. This looks to be a winner for Dems

What the article did not say is the her father is mainly in the shitter because of the economy and will remain in the shitter as long as the economy is bad . If the Bush economy remains the say, she will lose.

[jiacinto]

3. I would not be that optomistic

AK is still heavily Republican. The last Democrat to prevail there in a presidential race was LBJ in 1964. No Democrat has won a Senate race there since Mike Gravel won a second term in 1974. Knowles is the best shot Democrats have in years to win this seat but it is far from a sure thing. At best it is a fifty-fifty bet.

[mndemocrat_29]

2. We're going to win this one

Tony Knowles is popular enough to pull this off. Only 40 percent of appointed senators are elected for full terms. Lisa Murkowski is the Repukes most vulnerable senator.