According to the D.C.-based publication The Hill, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is leaving open the option to endorse in Alaska’s GOP Senate primary, which, if it happens, would be a move that would break with protocol. So far, the NRSC has remained neutral, but according to Executive Director Rob Collins “we reserve the right to endorse.”
Here’s Collins:
I’ve also said early on in my tenure at NRSC that if the Democrats attempt to choose our nominees we will plot a course that Republicans are responding. This isn’t particularly directed at Alaska but just generally we have not sat idly as we’ve watched Harry Reid’s efforts to choose whom the Republicans nominate.
The pro-Begich super-PAC, Put Alaska First, has spent more than $3.7 million attacking GOP candidate Dan Sullivan. So far, the PAC has left the other candidates, Mead Treadwell and Joe Miller, out of the race.
In a phone interview on Thursday, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski shared Collins’ frustration with the huge amount of pre-primary money that’s coming into the state by the Democrats. She also seemed frustrated with the time-honored position of not endorsing pre-primary.
“I have said that I won’t get involved, but it’s frustrating,” she said, “We’ve got (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid spending millions of dollars to drag Dan Sullivan down and through the mud and trying to weaken him. Begich and Reid are scared. Dan is clearly in a position to beat Mark Begich,” she said.
Murkowski said it’s all the more vexing because Begich has drawn her into the race by continuing to use her name in his ads, despite her objections. She suspects that Begich is doing so to draw voters to Joe Miller. Indeed, Murkowski is Miller’s nemesis. He has repeatedly evoked her name during forums and debates as an example of an establishment Republican who is bringing the party and the country down.
Miller has used both Sullivan and Treadwell’s support for Murkowski in 2010 as a talking point against them, but he has saved particular heat for Treadwell, who has been trying to out tea party and out conservative Miller.
Here’s a recent tweet from Miller’s spokesman:
I think this cartoon says it all about Mead Treadwell’s professed election year transformation. #aksen pic.twitter.com/BuC6fkcets
— Randy DeSoto (@RandyDeSoto) August 2, 2014
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
Wrong. He has always been a catholic and certainly never pro choice or pro gay marriage.
Ah, okay, that makes sense. Yeah, Joe’s Military Service means a whole lot, the Bronze Star isn’t awarded for nothin, to say the least!
I had heard that Mead and Dan had been friends before all of this politikin started, but they must not’ve been that good o’ friends if he’s putting stuff out like that. I’ll still vote for Joe, since Dan’s a Lisa lover and all, but if it wasn’t for that, I would have considered voting for him.
Note to Franklin –
I can’t comment with 100% certainty. However, I think that Joe Miller and Dan Sullivan respect one another. While they may differ on some issues and occasionally politically poke at one another, both men have character, served their nation and are good men.
Because of these variables, is the answer to your question.
Treadwell has definitely spent the last two months trying to “out Joe Miller” Joe Miller. If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the last few years, it’s that no one can outdo Joe Miller. Mead can try to run as a right-winger all he wants, but he’s only making his moderate supporters scratch their heads.
If Lisa is endorsing Dan, and Joe rightfully hates Lisa, why isn’t he putting up Dan cartoons? In fact, I’ve very rarely heard Joe attack Dan at all, something’s weird here – this isn’t the Joe I know. He’s not being strategic, Treadwell’s a no-show and everyone’s polling agrees. Why isn’t he going after his real competition?
The Miller spokesperson nailed it with the Treadwell cartoon. Treadwell has turned from bring a liberal pro-choice and gay rights advocate Republivan to pretending he is now a conservative that is pro-life, defender of the 2nd amendment and……………in reality, he’s just a Republican version of Mark Begich.