Murkowski has not formally announced her bid for reelection but has reported strong fundraising. Her supporters believe she will benefit from a new Alaska voting system that eliminates partisan primaries and introduces ranked-choice voting.
And in a recent focus group of Alaska Trump supporters, some Murkowski critics still gave her credit for channeling federal aid to the state.
“There’s a ‘Murkowski delivers for Alaska’ campaign in there,” said Sarah Longwell, a Republican Trump critic who conducted the focus group.