Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is preparing to launch a 2028 Senate campaign against Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a fellow Republican and frequent critic of President Donald Trump, according to sources close to the governor.
“He’s not going to quit his term,” a top source close to Dunleavy who used to work with him in Juneau, Alaska, exclusively told Fox News Digital of the governor’s long-term plans. It should be noted that the next senator up for reelection in Alaska is Republican Dan Sullivan next year, when Dunleavy would still be in office.
The last Alaska governor to resign to run for higher office — 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin — “never recovered,” the source said.
Dunleavy “cares deeply about Alaska and wants the state to succeed,” the source said, noting he recently joked that he prefers the Arctic’s open landscape to the “concrete” of Washington, D.C.—one reason the Pennsylvania-born Republican generally avoids the East Coast.
“But he knows that (being in Washington) is the only way to get things done,” the source told Fox News, noting that Dunleavy was the second governor to endorse President Trump ahead of his 2016 election victory. A top White House staffer said Dunleavy visits the White House more than any other governor, despite the 3,500-mile trip, one-way.
“He’s not about an ego and pushing himself in front of the cameras. He gets stuff done. … He’s not like, ‘Please put me on this committee’ or ‘I have to attend this ball’. He doesn’t like those types of things,” the source added. “Trump has talked to him before about running and wants him to run.”
Dunleavy was on hand at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage on Aug. 15 when President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Though Alaska leans Republican, winning reelection as governor has historically been difficult. Former Gov. Jay Hammond was the last Republican to do so in 1978, while Sean Parnell, who assumed office after Sarah Palin’s 2009 resignation, did not technically win reelection in 2010, Fox noted. “Obviously, there are a lot of frustrations with Sen. Murkowski,” the source added.
