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

Ballrooms, Ballots, and a Three-Way Fight for New York
Ballrooms, Ballots, and a Three-Way Fight for New York
The latest Independent Voter Podcast episode takes listeners through the messy intersections of politics, reform, and public perception. Chad and Cara open with the irony of partisan outrage over trivial issues like a White House ballroom while overlooking the deeper dysfunctions in our democracy. From California to Maine, they unpack how the very words on a ballot can tilt entire elections and how both major parties manipulate language and process to maintain power....
30 Oct, 2025
-
1 min read
California Prop 50 gets an F
Princeton Gerrymandering Project Gives California Prop 50 an 'F'
The special election for California Prop 50 wraps up November 4 and recent polling shows the odds strongly favor its passage. The measure suspends the state’s independent congressional map for a legislative gerrymander that Princeton grades as one of the worst in the nation....
30 Oct, 2025
-
3 min read
bucking party on gerrymandering
5 Politicians Bucking Their Party on Gerrymandering
Across the country, both parties are weighing whether to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Texas, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Utah, Indiana, Colorado, Illinois, and Virginia are all in various stages of the action. Here are five politicians who have declined to support redistricting efforts promoted by their own parties....
31 Oct, 2025
-
4 min read