Murkowski Says She’s Open To Leaving The Republican Party

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R‑Alaska) said Monday that she’s open to leaving the Republican Party and possibly becoming an independent, even caucusing with Senate Democrats. She made the remarks while promoting her upcoming memoir and emphasized she’s exploring “something different than the status quo.”

Murkowski described the scenario as “supremely hypothetical”, but admitted “there may be that possibility” and she has “some openness to exploring something different than the status quo.”

She reiterated that any such shift would be based on better serving Alaskans, not political maneuvering.

E&E News by Politico provides additional insights:

Asked by journalist Galen Druke if she would ever become an independent and join the Senate’s Democratic Caucus, Murkowski left that scenario open.

“There may be that possibility,” she said in an excerpt of an interview Druke posted to X. “There is some openness to exploring something different than the status quo.”

Murkowski, a former chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee who has a centrist record on matters like abortion rights, health care and climate change, is promoting her new memoir, “Far from Home: An Alaskan Senator Faces the Extreme Climate of Washington, D.C.,” which will be released Tuesday. She also chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee overseeing funding for the Interior Department and EPA.

How does this compare to her past positions?

It’s not entirely new: in March 2025, she said she was open to registering as an independent “if that serves her constituents better,” while still intending to caucus with Republicans.

Back in January 2021, she said she had “absolutely no desire to move over to the Democrat side” but, as party dynamics changed, she began openly questioning whether the GOP remained the right fit.

Context & why it’s significant

1. Alaska’s unique system: With an open primary and ranked-choice voting in Alaska, Murkowski doesn’t face typical primary threats.
2. Centrist reputation: She’s frequently crossed party lines — voting to convict Trump in his second impeachment, opposing certain Trump-era judicial nominees, and championing environmental and health care causes — making her one of the Senate’s most moderate Republicans.
3. Potential impact: A shift — particularly if she joined the Democratic caucus — could reshape the Senate’s balance, though she’d likely still caucus with GOP even if unaffiliated.

Bottom line

Murkowski’s comments signal a serious openness to changing her party registration, something she’d only floated in private or vague terms before. She’s emphasizing principled independence over party allegiance, though she remains clear she’s not eager to align with Democrats ideologically. That said, no formal move has been made — just expressions of a hypothetical possibility.

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