The Alaska Republican Party censured Sen. Lisa Murkowski, vowing to “recruit” a primary challenger to unseat her in next year’s election. The party noted Murkowski’s vote to convict Trump during the second impeachment trial as well as a number of other votes the Senator cast its statement.
Fox News reports:
The Alaska Republican Party on Saturday passed a resolution censuring Murkowski for her impeachment trial vote, and for several other votes she took that have angered Republicans in the state.
Among those votes, according to the resolution, are her opposition to repealing the Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare, voting “present” rather than in support of the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and her support this month for the confirmation of Rep. Deb Haaland as interior secretary. Murkowski and Alaska’s other senator – Dan Sullivan – were among four Senate Republicans who voted to confirm Haaland this week as the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary.
The resolution states that Murkowski’s “repeatedly spoken critically of President Trump throughout his term in office” and that “the Alaska Republican Party hereby separates itself from Sen. Murkowski’s conviction vote of President Trump.”
Besides censuring Murkowski – a move that other state Republican parties have taken against House and Senate lawmakers from their states who voted to impeach or convict Trump – the resolution also states that “the party hereby will recruit a Republican primary challenger to oppose and prohibit Sen. Murkowski from being a candidate in any Republican primary to the extent legally permissible.”
Multiple Republican senators who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial have faced censures from their state party. Trump also vowed to support Republican contenders aiming to unseat the RINOs in upcoming elections during his speech at CPAC.