One of the Senate GOP’s most unpredictable members is now openly considering leaving the Republican Party ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), a known moderate and frequent swing vote, confirmed in a recent interview that she’s weighing whether to register as an independent—posing a potential shakeup for the already fragile Republican majority in the Senate.
With just a three-seat edge, the GOP has relied on Vice President J.D. Vance to cast several tie-breaking votes when moderates like Murkowski—or libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)—break ranks. The dynamic has created serious headaches for Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), especially as he tries to unify a caucus increasingly shaped by Trump-era conservatism.
In an appearance on Semafor’s podcast, Murkowski acknowledged she’s been approached multiple times about switching parties—and that she’s seriously considered it.
“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,’” she said.
Her comments come just as she prepares to release her new book, Far from Home: An Alaskan Senator Faces the Extreme Climate of Washington, D.C., in which she reportedly expands on her disillusionment with the current political landscape.
Murkowski said her discomfort stems from growing ideological differences with the GOP, though she still aligns more closely with Republicans than Democrats overall.
“Do I feel that within my Republican conference, I always feel like I’m right here in my political home? No,” she admitted. “There’s some directions and policies that I disagree with.”
Still, Murkowski made it clear she isn’t sold on the Democrats either, pointing to Vice President Kamala Harris’s failure to carry any swing states in the 2024 election.
“As challenged as I think we may be on the Republican side, I don’t see Democrats being much better,” she said, citing fundamental disagreements with their policies.
Murkowski is no stranger to political rebellion. After losing her primary during the 2010 Tea Party wave, she mounted a historic write-in campaign to win the general election—an unprecedented feat in modern U.S. politics.
She now faces another tough reelection in 2026, with strong primary opposition already mounting. A party switch would undoubtedly shake up that race—and possibly the Senate itself.
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