Dunleavy accepted Trump’s conditional endorsement, telling the former president he would not support Murkowski in 2022

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By James Brooks

Updated: 38 minutes ago Published: 38 minutes ago

Greeted by Gov. Mike Dunleavy was President Trump at JBER in Feb. 28, 2019 (Photo by Shealah Craighead / White House)

JUNEAU – Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is the conditional endorsement of former President Donald Trump in his re -election campaign in 2022, according to a message sent from Trump’s political action committee Thursday night.

Trump offered Dunleavy his “Complete and Total Endorsement” earlier this week, but if Dunleavy refuses to endorse fellow Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski for re -election.

“Please tell the President thank you for the endorsement,” Dunleavy replied, according to Trump’s Save America PAC. “On another issue, please tell the President that he has nothing to worry about. I appreciate all that 45 has done for Alaska and this country.”

Staff for Dunleavy’s re-election campaign could not immediately answer questions asking for confirmation of the governor’s message, how the message was sent, whether it was intended for distribution or whether the governor spoke to the former president. .

[Trump again endorses Dunleavy for Alaska governor — but only if he doesn’t back Murkowski]

Earlier this week, a Dunleavy spokesman said the governor had previously planned not to offer endorsement to the U.S. Senate career.

Trump unconditionally endorsed Dunleavy in the 2018 gubernatorial race.

Some of the president’s former aides worked on the campaign of Murkowski’s main Republican challenger, former Alaska Department of Administration commissioner Kelly Tshibaka, who worked in the Dunleavy administration and was endorsed by Trump.

Tshibaka’s campaign declined to say whether it asked Trump to make his endorsement dependent on a lack of support for Murkowski, who is widely viewed as one of the more moderate Republicans in the Senate.

Trump and Murkowski have clashed on several occasions, and he was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. A spokesman for Murkowski’s campaign did not respond to a request for an interview earlier this week or again on Friday.

On Friday, six candidates including Dunleavy registered as gubernatorial race candidates with either the Alaska Division of Elections or the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Ten candidates, not including Tshibaka, have registered with the Division of Elections for the U.S. Senate seat. The deadline to enter either race is June 1.

In the same race, the top four who finish in the primary election in August will advance to the general election in November, where the winners will be selected with a ranked voting option.

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