Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is preparing to announce a 2028 run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Lisa Murkowski, according to several sources close to the governor who spoke exclusively to Fox News this week.
The move would place him against Murkowski, who has repeatedly clashed with President Donald Trump and is often viewed as one of the most moderate Republicans in Congress. Dunleavy, by contrast, has been a strong Trump ally since 2016, Fox News reported.
“He’s not going to quit his term,” a top source close to Dunleavy, who previously worked with him in Juneau, told Fox News Digital. The source stressed that Dunleavy intends to complete his time as governor before seeking higher office.
The last governor to leave office early to pursue national ambitions was Sarah Palin, who resigned in 2009. “She never recovered,” the source said.
Dunleavy has earned a reputation for avoiding Washington’s spotlight but producing results in Alaska. “He’s not about an ego and pushing himself in front of the cameras. He gets stuff done,” the source said. “He doesn’t like the cocktail parties and photo ops.”
Even so, those close to him say he understands that “being in Washington is the only way to get things done.” While he has joked that he prefers Alaska’s Arctic landscapes to “all this concrete” in Washington, he recognizes the need to represent the state at the national level.
Dunleavy was the second governor to endorse Trump in 2016 and has been one of the most frequent governors to visit the White House despite the 3,500-mile distance. “Trump has talked to him before about running and wants him to run,” the source said.
Dunleavy also attended Trump’s Aug. 15 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, further underscoring his role as one of the president’s key allies in Alaska.
Winning as a Republican in Alaska has historically been difficult. Former Gov. Jay Hammond was the last to win re-election in 1978. Sean Parnell, who became governor after Palin’s resignation, did not win re-election outright.
Still, Dunleavy is seen as a formidable candidate. “A lot of people have mentioned this (race) to him and … I think it is a very viable option for him,” another source told Fox News Digital.
“Obviously there are a lot of frustrations with Sen. Murkowski,” the source added, noting her tense relationship with Trump. “Gov. Dunleavy has been not only a successful governor, but a strong ally for him. So it’s only natural that he’d be hearing that from Alaskans — but also from folks in the broader MAGA movement.”
Dunleavy, like Murkowski, has succeeded under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, which critics say has benefited Democrats. But unlike her past challengers, sources say he has broad support outside conservative circles.
He is also respected among Native communities across the North Slope and rural Alaska, where he has focused on energy development, infrastructure, and rural education. Those ties could prove critical in a statewide race where the Native vote has often played a decisive role.
“Murkowski has never faced a challenger like him,” another source said. “He’s built support that goes beyond just conservatives.”
A top Alaska political analyst agreed. “Conservatives would welcome an opportunity to unseat Murkowski,” the analyst said Thursday. “The fact that Trump and Murkowski have had such a strained relationship and Dunleavy and the president (have) a good relationship is really what has led us to this point.”
Murkowski, the daughter of former Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski, has shown her resilience in the past. She famously won a write-in campaign in 2010 after losing the GOP primary to Tea Party candidate Joe Miller. But analysts say Dunleavy would represent her most serious threat yet.
The 2028 matchup would pit two of Alaska’s most prominent figures against each other: Murkowski, the entrenched moderate with a family legacy in Alaska politics, and Dunleavy, the Trump-aligned governor who has drawn support across communities.
