Incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose votes in support of President Biden have harmed Alaska’s energy workers, skipped a ConocoPhillips candidates forum on oil and gas issues Tuesday in Anchorage. Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka, currently shown by ABC News’ FiveThirtyEight to be leading the race, did attend and pledged to support oil and gas workers in Alaska, while also exposing Murkowski’s dismal record of siding with environmental extremists.
Murkowski cast the tie-breaking vote in committee to advance the nomination of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland for final approval. As she cast the vote, Murkowski expressed concern that Haaland’s radical environmental views would hurt Alaska, yet she gave her support anyway. Haaland has gone on to lead Biden’s assault on the state’s energy industries and workers.
Tshibaka today issued the following statement:
“Oil and gas jobs are the most crucial part of Alaska’s economy and there are thousands of Alaska families who are worried about what Biden is doing to their livelihoods. Lisa Murkowski has enabled Biden’s war on Alaska, yet she can’t be bothered to come speak to the very people she has endangered. She’s much more comfortable with her D.C. insider friends, who are very happy that she’s helped put radical environmentalists in charge.
“When I’m the next senator for Alaska, I will always fight for Alaska’s right to responsibly develop our own natural resources because we do it safer and more efficiently than anyone else. And I will always stand up for the men and women who work in these vital industries, which is why I have been endorsed by the Oil and Gas Workers Association. My parents were able to pull themselves into the middle class thanks to an oil job, and I will always be there to fight for those jobs.”
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