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Nov 7, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Rick Scott: GOP campaign arm supports Murkowski over Trump-endorsed opponent

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Florida Sen. Rick Scott, chair of the Senate GOP's campaign arm, told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that the group supports Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in her re-election campaign, despite the fact that her opponent is endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Why it matters: Trump in June endorsed former Alaska commissioner Kelly Tshibaka in her Senate race against Murkowski, who was one of seven Republicans to vote to convict Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

Murkowski is the only Republican who voted to convict that is up for re-election in 2022.

State of play: Tshibaka announced last week that Trump will host a fundraiser for her at Mar-a-Lago in February. Tshibaka, a former state Department of Administration commissioner, has roped in several former Trump associates to help her campaign.

The big picture: Scott told host Chuck Todd that the National Republican Senatorial Committee is supporting all incumbents in the 2022 elections, and that "absolutely" includes Murkowski.

  • "We support all of our incumbents. And fortunately for us, we've got great candidates running in our primaries."

Of note: Back in March, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said he would support Murkowski in the midterm elections.

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