Did Sarah Palin Just Threaten to Primary Sen. Lisa Murkowski Over Her Kavanaugh Vote?

image
Published: 05 Oct, 2018
1 min read

In a 51-49 vote Friday to advance Brett Kavanaugh to a confirmation vote for the Supreme Court this weekend, Lisa Murkowski was the only Republican to break ranks with her party and vote, "No."

"He's not the right man for the court at this time," Murkowski told reporters, declaring that she will also vote against Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation Saturday as well.

Later in the day, Sarah Palin tweeted at Murkowsi: "@LisaMurkowski - I can see 2022 from my house..." a reference to a Saturday Night Live sketch from the 2008 presidential election in which Tina Fey played Sarah Palin and said she could see Russia from her house:

Hey @LisaMurkowski - I can see 2022 from my house...

— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) October 5, 2018

The pointed tweet was a warning that voters will remember Murkowski's decision when she's up for reelection in four years, and that she may face a primary challenge from the right– but it leaves one to wonder whether that challenge may come from Palin herself, who has basked in the national political spotlight, and has a long running intrastate, instra-party feud with the Murkowski family.

Palin ousted Lisa Murkowski's father, Frank Murkowski to become governor in 2006, handing the incumbent Republican governor a stunning defeat by a 30 point lead in the 2006 Republican primary, and gloating on Twitter, "Do you believe in miracles?" when Lisa Murkowski lost her own primary in 2010.

(The senator kept her seat that year by running a successful write in campaign, an extreme rarity in U.S. Senate history.)

Sens. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Susan Collins (R-ME) who have been closely watched, and aggressively lobbied by activists and politicians on both sides as swing votes in the Kavanaugh nomination proceedings, were both yes votes today.

You Might Also Like

Trump sitting in the oval office with a piece of paper with a cannabis leaf on his desk.
Is Trump About to Outflank Democrats on Cannabis? Progressives Sound the Alarm
As President Donald Trump signals renewed interest in reclassifying cannabis from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III, a policy goal long championed by liberals and libertarians, the reaction among some partisan progressive advocates is not celebration, but concern....
08 Dec, 2025
-
5 min read
Malibu, California.
From the Palisades to Simi Valley, Independent Voters Poised to Decide the Fight to Replace Jacqui Irwin
The coastline that defines California’s mythology begins here. From Malibu’s winding cliffs to the leafy streets of Brentwood and Bel Air, through Topanga Canyon and into the valleys of Calabasas, Agoura Hills, and Thousand Oaks, the 42nd Assembly District holds some of the most photographed, most coveted, and most challenged terrain in the state. ...
10 Dec, 2025
-
6 min read
Ranked choice voting
Ranked Choice for Every Voter? New Bill Would Transform Every Congressional Election by 2030
As voters brace for what is expected to be a chaotic and divisive midterm election cycle, U.S. Representatives Jamie Raskin (Md.), Don Beyer (Va.), and U.S. Senator Peter Welch (Vt.) have re-introduced legislation that would require ranked choice voting (RCV) for all congressional primaries and general elections beginning in 2030....
10 Dec, 2025
-
3 min read