In a Dec. 13 interview with the group “No Labels,” Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski repeatedly said she is uncomfortable with her Republican party affiliation, and suggested that the country would be far better off if politicians could figure out a way to ditch party affiliations altogether.

Founded by long-time Democratic operative Nancy Jacobson, who has worked for the Clinton’s and Obama’s, No Labels fancies itself as an advocate for transcending, and ultimately undermining the power of established political parties. The group has found favor with many Democrats and left-of-center Republicans.

Murkowski, who is no fan of President-elect Donald Trump, has increasingly distanced herself from the GOP and its priorities. She is now best known for voting with Democrats on a host of left-leaning causes.

In addition to voting to impeach President Trump, she has opposed efforts to protect women’s sports from transgender biological males, voted to confirm a radical LGBTQ activist for Health and Human Services and joined Democrats to confirm anti-oil-development Deb Holland as Interior secretary. She’s also an enthusiastic supporter of Planned Parenthood’s abortion agenda, which includes the right to kill unborn babies at any time – for any reason.

In her interview with No Labels, she characterized herself as a brave woman who “dares to stand in the middle,” and who “doesn’t really have a political home.”

“I don’t think I’ve made any secret of the fact that I’m more of a Ronald Regan Republican than I am a Donald Trump Republican,” she boasted. “Some would say, ‘Well, you’re not really a Republican at all.’ And I say, you can call me whatever you want to call me. I’m not attached to a label. I’d rather be that ‘no label’ … and I’m totally good and comfortable with that. In fact, I think I’m more comfortable with that identity than an identity as a Republican, as a party person.”

Given her affinity for “no labels,” it’s no surprise that Murkowski was behind the initial effort to institute Alaska’s highly divisive and controversial ranked-choice voting scheme back in 2020. Developed by her close ally, Scott Kendall, the ballot measure did away with party primaries, thereby allowing politicians like Murkowski to avoid having to make her case to Republicans in order to make it onto the general election ballot.

Now, she can avoid party primaries altogether, and then appeal to Democrats and left-of center Republicans in her general election contests. Her next campaign will be in 2028.

As for the immediate future, Murkowski worries that it will be difficult for politicians like here, given that Trump won the White House, and Republicans now control both the U.S. House and Senate

“I think it’s going to be hard in these next four years because you have an administration coming in that has had an opportunity to see what worked, what didn’t work – and now had four years to think about it, and the approach is going to be, everybody toe the line, everybody line up,” she said. “We gotcha’ here and if you want to survive, you better be good. Don’t get on Santa’s naughty list or we will primary you.”

Murkowski said she is already feeling the pressure to approve Trump’s cabinet nominees. She added that she is afraid energized Republicans will “overreach” in their zeal to enact priority legislation.

Murkowski’s ideal political world would be neither red nor blue, she explained. In fact, she believes it would have been far better if the 2024 presidential election had managed to put forth what she calls “a unity ticket,” under the leadership of someone like Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin.

Despite her rhetoric and mounting criticism of the GOP, Murkowski is not prepared to make the bold step of walking away from the Republican party.

“You don’t have to leave your party [to] be free to express views that are outside of your party lines,” she said. “I am still a Republican. Some people think I’m an independent, but I’ve never shed my party label.”
Nevertheless, she admits that she’s an oddity within the GOP.

“I don’t fit well,” she said. “I hate the labels we assign to people.”

Over the next four years, Murkowski said she hopes to find more like-minded “no label” colleagues in the U.S. Senate.

“It is not easy when it is you who is bucking the party, when you’re trying to move forward,” she lamented. “It’s a very lonely place to be.”

Click here to support Alaska Watchman reporting.