Murkowski might honestly be better just running as an independent who caucuses with Dems. Alaska is competitive enough she can win with Dems, Indies and like 20% of Rs
The chances of her switching are extremely low, BUT it can’t hurt to try. If Manchin actually does get to a point where he’s blocking bills that the entire Caucus supports then offering her Energy Committee Chair may be a play that Biden & Schumer should look at.
The last thing that the Democratic caucus needs is someone else as spineless as Manchin on environmental issues, from a state reliant on oil no less, let alone chairing a committee where those policies would be extremely influential.
Murkowski's still a cut above most Senate Republicans, but I think that an opposition party throwing itself behind her would be embarrassing and quite possibly backfire. Alaskan politics are still weird, but nationalization has been eating into it steadily as with the rest of the country, and too many people think that another Bill Walker can come from anywhere.
Counterpoint, Manchin is already the energy chair. Switching from the coal industry guy to the oil industry guy is effectively a lateral move. OTOH, if we can get a party switch and get DC statehood, which she already publicly ‘supports’, reconciliation based infrastructure, and voting right out of it, as our price I’m all for it. With the added benefit of finally being able to screw Manchin back for all the BS he puts everyone through.
