It’s not unheard of that a politician will switch political parties. In recent years, Townhall has covered how state lawmakers in North Carolina and Georgia have switched from Democrat to Republican. In the North Carolina scenario, this handed Republicans a supermajority in the state legislature.
This week, one Republican member of the US Senate was asked if she’d become a Democrat.
This week, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who represents Alaska, said that she “considered” the possibility of switching to the Senate Democratic caucus.
Murkowski revealed this in an interview with Semafor. She claimed that she thought about it “because people have asked about it,” (via Semafor):
“I would be not being honest with you if I said I’ve never been asked … ‘Why don’t you switch?’ Or people have said: ‘You should switch,’” the Alaska senator told Semafor in an interview ahead of Tuesday’s release of her new book. “Have I considered it? Yes, because I’ve been asked the question.”
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“Do I feel that within my Republican conference, I always feel like I’m right here in my political home? No. There’s sometimes directions and policies that I disagree with,” Murkowski said, adding that her philosophy and values “more closely align with” the GOP, not Democrats.
“But having said that, it is not [accurate] that I allow a label to define me. And I think maybe this is what causes some frustration with people.”
Though she did not support Trump’s presidential campaigns, Murkowski shared that she recently called the president to discuss working together. She told Semafor that the conversation was “very pleasant.”
“He has directed his team, and, I think, resources towards Alaska, because he sees the potential … and I’m thankful for that,” Murkowski said of her conversation with Trump. “And I said, ‘I have been critical. I get that.’ But I also said something to the effect of: ‘My mom raised me to know when it’s time to speak out, but also when you want to acknowledge and thank [people] for things that have been done,’” she added. “And so I wanted to thank him for it.”