FUND RAISING: Candidate touts his D.C. connections.
U.S. Sen. Frank Murkowski's supporters say one of his assets as governor would be his connections in Washington, D.C. Those connections are already aiding his election campaign.
This month will see two members of the Bush Cabinet and the leader of the U.S. House of Representatives in Alaska helping Murkowski raise money.
Tommy Thompson, secretary of Health and Social Services, held two fund-raisers over the past week. Christie Whitman, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and House Speaker Dennis Hastert are scheduled to be in Alaska next week and will also hold fund-raisers.
"They are very important. They reflect a belief in my gubernatorial candidacy or they wouldn't be doing this," Murkowski said Tuesday.
Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer, the Democratic candidate, and the likely challenger to Murkowski should he win the Aug. 27 Republican primary, has had no national-level politicians helping her campaign or raise money, said spokesman Jason Moore.
"I don't think most Alaskans care what Outsiders think about who their next governor should be," Moore said.
Congress is in recess. For politicians such as Murkowski running for election, August is often a time to return home to campaign and raise money. Top officials and those not facing a serious election challenge of their own often spend the month helping out on other campaigns.
Tuesday, Hastert began a three-week tour of a dozen Western states to help Republican candidates, said his campaign spokesman John McGovern. Hastert won his March primary in Illinois. Months away from the general election, he is campaigning for Republicans running for the House and for the governor's office in California, New Mexico and Alaska.
He and Whitman will co-host a $150 per-person lunch at the Egan Center Aug. 14. The next day Whitman is scheduled to be at another Murkowski fund-raiser in Fairbanks.
Whitman is tentatively scheduled to visit the North Slope oil fields. Thompson spent much of his time with U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, visiting health care facilities in rural Alaska.
Friday, Thompson attended a Murkowski fund-raiser in Fairbanks. Monday, he attended a second fund-raiser in Eagle River. Over the weekend, he squeezed in a day of fishing with Stevens.
Murkowski's campaign spokesman Dan Saddler would not say how much money the two events raised.
Ulmer and Murkowski are close in the race for campaign dollars. As of July 31, Murkowski had raised nearly $950,000 and Ulmer $892,000.
Alaska campaigns occasionally draw big-name help.
In 1990, former President George Bush held a fund-raiser for Republican gubernatorial candidate Arliss Sturgulewski. In April, President Bush hosted a fund-raiser in Anchorage for the Republican Party of Alaska and the party's governor fund. Murkowski was at Bush's elbow for much of the affair.
This weekend, U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Illinois, and former presidential candidate Alan Keyes will appear at a fund-raiser for Alaska Right to Life. The anti-abortion group has endorsed Republican Wayne Anthony Ross, who faces Murkowski in the primary.
Ross will speak at the meeting. He said he has not asked the visitors to raise money for him.
No national politicians or Clinton administration officials hosted fund-raisers for Gov. Tony Knowles when he ran for re-election in 1998, said his chief of staff, David Ramseur. Former Commerce Secretary William Daley did stop by one Anchorage event to have a drink, Ramseur said. But the campaign never solicited help.
"If they'd asked to help, we probably would have said no anyway, given the way Clinton played up here," Ramseur said.
While the Ulmer campaign emphasized the angle of Outsider involvement in Murkowski's campaign as a negative, Republican political strategist Curtis Thayer said it is evidence of the close ties to Washington that the Murkowski could bring to the Alaska governor's office.
"It shows he's got a good relationship with Washington, D.C. Given that D.C. is the largest land holder in Alaska, I'd call that a good thing," Thayer said.
Reporter Ben Spiess can be reached at bspiess@adn.com or 907 257-4464.
