Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s campaign is criticizing Republican rival Kelly Tshibaka for skipping a debate Monday night to attend a Texas fundraiser with about a month to go before the midterm elections.
Despite calling for more debates, Tshibaka has decided to skip the Kodiak fisheries debate, which has been a staple of Alaska politics for the past 30 years. Instead, she is headed to Dallas, where she will host an event with Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters. Tshibaka posted pictures on social media Sunday from a Dallas Cowboys football game.
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“It’s clear that Kelly would rather go to football games and fundraisers than answer to Alaskans,” Murkowski campaign spokesman Shea Siegert told the Washington Examiner. “The fishing industry is Alaska’s largest private employer, and Kelly’s willingness to dodge the Fish Debate, coupled with her well-documented history of violating Alaska fish and game law, speak volumes about how she feels about Alaska’s fishing industry and the Alaskans who support it. Not only is Kelly out of touch with Alaska — she’s not even here.”
Tshibaka said on her website that her campaign is “a job interview with the people of Alaska, and it’s the responsibility of all candidates to show up. I look forward to agreeing to a full schedule of debates very soon.”
Murkowski’s campaign called her absence from Monday’s event “as baffling as it is insulting to Alaskans, particularly because she demanded more debates just weeks ago.”
The two candidates appeared at their first Senate debate together last month.
Murkowski and Tshibaka, a Trump-endorsed former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Administration, are virtually tied in the polls, with just five weeks left before Election Day. The two Republicans are running against each other because Alaska uses a “top four” primary system, which means the top four finishers in the primary advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation.
Murkowski has been in the former president’s crosshairs, having said she was struggling with whether to support him in the 2020 presidential election. She also supported his impeachment following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
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A win by Tshibaka in November would mean Murkowski, often described as one of the most centrist Republicans in the Senate, would be replaced by a MAGA conservative. If Murkowski wins, the Alaska senator would retain her clout as a crucial swing vote in the closely divided upper chamber of Congress.
The Kodiak fisheries debate has been a staple in Alaska politics for decades.
Democratic challenger Patricia Chesbro will also be in attendance.
The Alaska Chamber of Commerce reached out to Murkowski, Chesbro, and Tshibaka in September about the debate, Kodiak Chamber of Commerce Director Jena Lowmaster told the Washington Examiner. Tshibaka’s campaign informed the chamber she would not be able to attend due to a prior commitment.
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“We didn’t dig,” Lowmaster said. “We wish we would have all of the candidates in attendance.”
Multiple requests to Tshibaka’s campaign for comment by the Washington Examiner were not returned.
