Lisa Murkowski, American lawyer and politician
Lisa Ann Murkowski ( mur-KOW-skee; (born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after Susan Collins of Maine. Like Collins, Murkowski is often described as one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate and a crucial swing vote. Murkowski became the dean of Alaska's Congressional delegation upon Representative Don Young's death.
Murkowski is the daughter of former U.S. senator and governor of Alaska Frank Murkowski. Before her appointment to the Senate, she served in the Alaska House of Representatives and was elected majority leader. She was controversially appointed to the Senate by her father, who resigned his seat in December 2002 to become governor of Alaska. Murkowski completed her father's unexpired Senate term, which ended in January 2005.
Murkowski ran for and won a full term in 2004. After losing the 2010 Republican primary to Tea Party candidate Joe Miller, Murkowski ran as a write-in candidate and defeated both Miller and Democrat Scott McAdams in the general election. She is the second U.S. senator (after Strom Thurmond in 1954) to be elected by write-in vote. Murkowski was elected to a third term in 2016, running as a Republican.
Murkowski was vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference from 2009 to 2010. She served as chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee from 2015 to 2021, and has served as vice chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee since 2021.
On February 13, 2021, Murkowski was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict Donald Trump of incitement of insurrection in his second impeachment trial. Following this vote, she was censured by the Alaska Republican Party.