Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska endorsed Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for governor Tuesday, crossing party lines in the final week ahead of Election Day.

The endorsement delivers to Kreiss-Tomkins a high-profile Republican endorsement in the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

Murkowski announced her support in an interview with Alaska News Source, citing widespread dissatisfaction with the direction of the state and praising Kreiss-Tomkins’ willingness to work across the aisle.

“Alaskans are seeking change. They don’t like the status quo,” Murkowski said. “I think it’s been a hard eight years in many different areas, and Alaskans are looking for something different.”

Four candidates are competing to replace Dunleavy, who cannot seek another term after eight years in office. Recent polling shows Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state lawmaker, leading the crowded field against Republicans Bernadette Wilson, former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and former state Attorney General Treg Taylor. Alaska uses a ranked-choice voting system in which voters rank candidates in order of preference, with the lowest-performing candidate eliminated and that candidate’s votes redistributed until one candidate secures a majority.

Murkowski described Kreiss-Tomkins as a candidate who could bring new energy and a collaborative approach, emphasizing his commitment to including Republicans, Democrats and independents in his administration.

“JKT is a young Alaskan with a view and a perspective that I think Alaska needs right now,” she said, calling him “a common sense guy who has a known ability to be working together.”

“We need a governor who’s going to work with the legislature,” Murkowski added.

Kreiss-Tomkins welcomed the endorsement, praising Murkowski’s bipartisan record.

“I have a lot of respect for Lisa, her integrity. I think she’s worked across the aisle in Congress, which is a quality I really admire, and hope to live up to if I’m elected governor,” he told Alaska News Source. “I’m very grateful that she wanted to step up and be a part of the coalition that we’re building.”

The endorsement is the latest example of Murkowski’s willingness to break with her party. She previously supported Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign for the House in 2022 and 2024.

She has also repeatedly clashed with President Donald Trump, including over his conduct and leadership of the Republican Party. Murkowski was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Trump subsequently backed a Republican challenger to Murkowski in her 2022 re-election race, which she won.

Most recently, Trump lashed out at Murkowski on Saturday, calling her a “disgrace to Alaska and our country” after she criticized his administration’s lawsuit seeking to block Alaska from certifying its Senate election results if the Republican candidate loses narrowly. Trump also accused Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system of being a “total Democrat scam.”

Wilson, who has been endorsed in the gubernatorial race by Trump, blasted Murkowski’s endorsement in a social media post Tuesday, accusing the senator of abandoning Alaska’s values.

“As Governor, I will not be a sitting duck,” Wilson wrote, “and I can assure you, I will actively work to unseat the worst “Republican” senator in the country.”

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