Ms. Murkowski’s primary race is too close to call, and it may be a few weeks before all of the votes are counted. But as of Wednesday, tea party insurgent candidate Joe Miller led Murkowski by just under 2,000 votes, shocking political watchers who expected Murkowski to cruise through her primary and general elections. Murkowski is a staunch conservative on most issues, but she is one of only a few abortion-rights Republicans in Congress, and she indicated a willingness to work on environmental legislation to reduce carbon emissions earlier this year. Both of those positions may have been factors in surprising level of support for Mr. Miller, a lawyer.
Miller’s success will surely raise the profile of Sarah Palin, who endorsed Miller’s campaign, once more. Ms. Palin’s endorsees did not generally perform well this summer, but a Miller victory would overshadow all that. It would also represent a second victory, of sorts, for Palin over a Murkowski – Palin became Alaska’s governor in 2006 after defeating Frank Murkowski, Lisa’s father, in a GOP primary.
