I won’t say getting elected because with ranked choice voting,  Mary Peltola wasn’t elected. She stole a seat in a race in which 60% of voters wanted a Republican candidate.

The question is what role did Sen. Murkowski play in helping take out a potential senate challenger?

Murkowski noted that Peltola’s victory made state and national history, as she will become the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress. 

“While it will be impossible for Alaska to replace Congressman Young, Mary has a long track record of public service to our great state — including our time working together in the Alaska State Legislature — and I look forward to her join Senator Sullivan and I as we advance Alaska’s priorities over the coming months,” she said in a statement. 

Peltola and Murkowski served in the Alaska state House together for a few years before Murkowski became a senator. 

Sullivan said he hopes to be able to work with Peltola over the next four months on the “issues that truly matter to our state,” like inflation and energy costs, using Alaska’s natural resources with “much-needed” infrastructure and achieving sustainable and healthy fisheries for all residents. 

“The three-person Alaska congressional delegation has a long and distinguished record of working together to advance and defend the interests of Alaskans, despite not always agreeing on different aspects of politics and policy,” he said. 

The wording here is fairly different. Sullivan sounds like a Republican discussing a Democrat in a collegial fashion. Murkowski sounds like a Democrat cheering another Democrat’s victory.

As bad as Collins and Romney are, and they are some of the worst RINOs in the Senate, they’re not actively taking away House seats and handing them to Democrats. 

Sen. Murkowski may be in a RINO league of her own here. But as she once said, I’m not here to be a representative of the Republican party.