Alaska Governor Fails In Renomination Attempt

Voters rejected incumbent Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) in Tuesday's primary. He joins Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-MI) as incumbents who failed to be re-nominated; he is the first incumbent governor this year to fall and the first in Alaska in 20 years.

Unlike the other incumbents, Murkowski lost soundly, coming in a distant third. Republican Sarah Palin, former Wasilla mayor, took 51 percent of the vote and will face Democrat Tony Knowles, a former governor, in the November election.

Murkowski represented Alaska for 22 years in the US Senate (1981-2002). He was succeeded by his daughter, Lisa, whom he appointed to the position when he won governorship in 2002.

See CNN, Seattle P-I, Washington Post.

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