GOP senator hints at jumping ship with Trump as the 2024 nominee
With Donald Trump all but assured of being the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nominee, one longtime Republican senator hinted at bolting the party during an interview with CNN.
Speaking with CNN's Manu Raju, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) bluntly admitted, "I wish that as Republicans, we had … a nominee that I could get behind. I certainly can’t get behind Donald Trump.”
Murkowski, one of the seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial has long been at odds with the former president and, while speaking with CNN did not rule out leaving the GOP due to the former president's influence on the party.
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Asked if she would leave the GOP behind to become an independent, she replied, "Oh, I think I’m very independent-minded. I just regret that our party is seemingly becoming a party of Donald Trump.”
Pressed on the issue, she stated, "I am navigating my way through some very interesting political times. Let’s just leave it at that.”
"Murkowski skated to reelection in her next two elections, even after voting to convict Trump in 2021, voting against Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court in 2018 and supporting Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2022. She had been targeted by Trump and his allies in 2022 but was backed by Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell and his high-spending outside group," the CNN report added.
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