Alaska Politics Blog : Murkowski to debate Miller (Updated)

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Sean Cockerham

Sean Cockerham writes about Alaska state politics. He's worked for the ADN in Anchorage and Juneau, covered the legislature for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, and covered Washington state politics for the Tacoma News Tribune. E-mail Sean at scockerham@adn.com

Kyle Hopkins

Kyle Hopkins covers rural affairs, general assignments and politics for the ADN. He covered the 2006 campaign for governor, has blogged extensively about Alaska politics, covered Anchorage city government and was a reporter based in the Mat-Su. He grew up in Southeast Alaska and previously wrote for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and Anchorage Press. E-mail Kyle at khopkins@adn.com and also find him on our rural Alaska blog, The Village.

David Hulen

David Hulen, the ADN's state and local news editor, is responsible for political coverage. He has been an editor and reporter at the ADN for more than 20 years. E-mail David at dhulen@adn.com

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Alaska political corruption

When the FBI raided state legislature offices in Aug. 2006, it publicly launched an investigation that ultimately reached the highest levels of Alaska politics, and continues to this day.

Murkowski to debate Miller (Updated)

Posted by Alaska_Politics

Anchorage Daily News

Posted: July 9, 2010 - 9:48 am

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced this morning she'll participate in three debates with Joe Miller, her challenger in the Republican primary.

The Miller campaign has been pushing Murkowski for debates, with his supporters saying she's ducking him. (Update -- The Murkowski campaign said it never received any formal request from the Miller campaign to schedule debates and has been working around Murkowski's Senate schedule to figure out when they can happen.)

Murkowski said she'll participate in an Aug. 10 Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce debate, an Aug. 11 Kenai/Soldotna Chamber of Commerce debate, as well as the Aug. 18 "Running" debate put on by KAKM public television and shown statewide.

The schedule means Murkowski won't be participating in any debates until just two weeks before the Aug. 24 Republican primary election.

“The Senate will be in session until August 7th,” Murkowski said in a written statement. “Alaskans elected me to defend our interests in the United State Senate, and that is where I will have to spend the bulk of my time until the August recess period begins.”