Tea party victim wages an establishment comeback

JUNEAU, Alaska — Against a string of Tea Party victories, the establishment is fighting back. Its personification is Lisa Murkowski, a U.S. senator by means of her father's appointment and one unwilling to fade into Alaska's political wilderness after losing to a candidate back by Sarah Palin and tea party activists.

Murkowski's establishment is the same one that brought billions of dollars in federal projects and aid to Alaskans, something she's counting on them to remember as she wages a write-in candidacy against Joe Miller, a candidate who upset Murkowski in last month's GOP primary.

Murkowski's bid is a long shot but not the only one being waged by members of the GOP's old guard against newcomers who bested them by espousing more conservative views and playing to an anti-establishment mood among voters irked by a Wall Street bailout and lingering high unemployment, bankruptcy and foreclosure rates.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is running for the Senate as an independent after tea party favorite Marco Rubio put a bow on the GOP nomination long before the state's primary. And nine-term Rep. Mike Castle, the former Republican governor who lost to tea party-financed novice Christine O'Donnell, has been eyeing an independent bid in Delaware.

Pilloried for months, most Republican veterans toppled by rebellious "tea partiers" advocating smaller government and lower taxes chose simply to surrender. Defying the will of one's party means proceeding without its formidable cash-raising apparatus and trying to win with what's left.

In Murkowski's case, what's left is an unused million-dollar campaign account: her association with and blessing of the state's pre-eminent figure for a quarter century, the late Sen. Ted Stevens; and the name recognition from the three decades she and her father, former Gov. Frank Murkowski, have held the Senate seat.

Political analysts are not counting on her to prevail. But this election year of unprecedented influences and trends could work for Murkowski, especially in a tight race, said one.

"If I were to bet, I'd bet on Miller. But I wouldn't bet a lot," said Sandy Maisel, director of the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs at Colby College.

There's a lot stacked against Murkowski. It's legally unclear, for example, which version of her name written on a ballot would count as a vote. The Republican establishment has pledged campaign cash to support Miller. To counter the GOP's influence, she'll need a broad coalition of voters behind her. And that means competing with Democrat Scott McAdams to win the support of moderates.