By James Brooks
Alaska Beacon
As she seeks re-election to the U.S. Senate, Republican candidate Lisa Murkowski raised more money between April 1 and June 30 than all other candidates in the race, combined.
Murkowski’s re-election campaign reported raising $1.57 million in the latest quarterly reports submitted to the Federal Elections Commission. Her lead challenger, Republican candidate Kelly Tshibaka, reported $586,717 during the same period. Democratic candidate Pat Chesbro declared raising $37,977, and no other candidate reported more than $1,000.
All three women are competing to finish among the top four candidates in the Aug. 16 primary election for U.S. Senate.
Voters will be asked to pick one candidate, and the four candidates who receive the most votes will advance to the general election in November. In that election, voters will be asked to rank the candidates in order of preference, with the winner earning a six-year term in the U.S. Senate.
A large fundraising tally doesn’t guarantee election — Democrat-endorsed independent Al Gross lost the U.S. Senate race to Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan in 2020 — but it can reveal a candidate’s base of support before votes are cast.
Tshibaka raised more money than Murkowski through WinRed, the national Republican system for small donations, and both received many donations from within the state. Murkowski received more out-of-state donations than Tshibaka, and her average donation was larger than Tshibaka’s.
Chesbro received few out-of-state donations, and two-thirds of her fundraising total was through ActBlue, the Democratic online system for small donations.
As of June 30, Murkowski’s campaign reported having about $6.1 million in cash available for future spending, and Tshibaka’s reported having about $1.1 million. The Chesbro campaign reported having less than $16,000.
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