The tea party-backed Joe Miller’s victory over Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Alaska Senate primary gave Democrat Scott McAdams an opportunity to make a name for himself, and a narrow shot at victory. But it’s also given Democrats across the state an opportunity to use Miller and his enormous disapproval ratings against other Republicans.
Case in point: a new ad running in Alaska for dark horse gubernatorial candidate Democrat Ethan Berkowitz, that ties Republican Sean Parnell to Miller and Sarah Palin.
“They gave Alaska its largest tax increase, the most spending in state history, declining oil investment, higher unemployment, a $500 million giveaway to TransCanada and Exxon,” the ad’s narrator says. “And they gave us Joe Miller. With four more years of Sean Parnell, do you really think we’ll be any closer to building a gas line?”
Parnell has a significant lead in the polls, and every indication suggests that he’ll defeat Berkowitz tonight. But highlighting the extent to which Palin and Miller are a liability to Alaska Republicans, a Republican strategist and Parnell supporter says this sort of ad will hurt Parnell and other state Republicans.
“What you have is a Republican Senate candidate with a disapproval rating in the 60s, and you have a Republican gubernatorial candidate that has been stumping alongside him,” says Matt Moon, former deputy research director for the RNC. “A Democratic candidate who has no chance of winning using another Republican candidate against the candidate he’s running against — it’s a very telling sign in Alaska right now: I wouldn’t be surprised if what should have been a 20-point win for Sean Parnell turns into a 10-point win because of that ad.”
Disclosure: Moon, who has worked in Alaska but now resides in DC, is supporting Miller’s opponent, Republican-turned-independent Lisa Murkowski, who’s running as a write-in candidate after Miller defeated her in the GOP primary.
“There are Democrat candidates for state legislative seats who are using Joe Miller against Republicans…in these races,” Moon says.
The TPM Poll Average gives Parnell a 55.4-39.6 lead over Berkowitz. You can view the ad below.
