Some people were just born into fame and popularity, riding on the benevolence of their politician father who created a space for her in the American Senate, the Alaskan-born Senator Lisa Murkowski is just your perfect political Amazon. The woman sure has politics flowing in her veins and being born into a known political family, she is more than capable of riding the turbulent turf of politics and emerging a winner on the other side.
Lisa got into the American Senate by chance, when her dad Frank Murkowski, a then sitting senator got elected as a governor, he quickly brought his daughter on board the Senate by appointing her to conclude his unfinished term as a senator in the USA. Despite the resultant controversy and protest elicited by her emergence, the dogged political Amazon held fast to her senatorial seat and was able to contest and win in the next election which took place in 2004. Lisa’s political records spanned from 1998 when she was elected into the Alaskan House of Representatives. During her years as a House of Rep member, she contested in two successful re-elections before proceeding to the Senate. since then, she has held many important political offices and has done admirably well. The 5 feet 9 inches tall political icon is a born fighter. As the woman in the American Senate, Lisa Murkowski is only second in seniority to Susan Collins from Maine.
Who is Lisa Murkowski?
The Republican was born on the 22nd day of May 1956 in Ketchikan, Alaska. Her dad Frank Murkowski was a banker before joining the American political race where he served as a senator and later as a governor while her mum Nancy Rena (nee Gore) is of Canadian, Irish and French ancestry. During her formative years, Lisa’s family members were always on the move relocating around the state because of her dad’s banking job.
The young Lisa Murkowski finished high school at Monroe High School Fairbanks Ak, after graduation, she proceeded to Georgetown University where she bagged a bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1980. Later in 1985, Lisa earned a JD degree from Willamette University College of Law.
Before her foray into politics, Lisa Murkowski held the post of an attorney in the Anchorage District Court Clerk’s office between 1987 till 1989. In 1989, she went into private practice in Anchorage Alaska and stayed till 1998, she put in a year on the Mayor’s Task Force for the Homeless from 1990 to 1991.
5 Facts You Need to Know About Lisa Murkowski
Alaska House of Rep
The senior politician got elected to the Alaska House of Rep for the first time in 1998, she has a record of two re-elections in 2000 and 2002 respectively. The political pundit served as House Majority Leader for the legislative sessions of 2003-2004 but due to her senatorial appointment, she declined the post and consequently tendered her resignation to the Alaska House of Rep. She was a past chairperson of the Military and Veterans Affairs Committees and also of the Labor and Commerce Committee, she also sat on the Alaskan commission on post-secondary education matters.
U.S Senate Appointment
While she was still a serving member of the State House in Alaska, Lisa Murkowski got appointed into the U.S Senate by her dad – Governor Frank Murkowski. The appointment which came into existence with Frank’s resignation from the Senate after being elected governor raised a lot of dust, it was regarded as nepotism by the majority. Lisa’s appointment eventually gave rise to a referendum which stripped the governor of his rights and constitutional powers to appoint replacement senators directly.
Caucus Memberships
Murkowski is a prestigious member of the Senate Oceans Caucus where she presently serves in her capacity as a co-chairperson, she belongs to the Senate Cultural Caucus as a member and also has a membership of Afterschool Caucuses.
Lisa Murkowski Relationship Status
The Alaskan senator has been married only once in her lifetime, she has had a long record of marital bliss with her spouse Verne Martell. The duo got married in 1987 and has since been inseparable, they have two children namely Nicholas and Mathew Martell.
Interesting Facts
Lisa achieved an uncommon feat in 2010 when she made the records as the 2nd senator in the history of the United States to defeat candidates whose names were on the ballot paper and went ahead to win the election as a write-in candidate. The first politician to achieve this uncommon feat was Strom Thurmond in the year 1954.
On October 6, 2018, Senator Lisa Murkowski stirred controversy when she cast her vote against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. This set her aside as the only Republican senator to oppose the Supreme Court nominee, a move which President Donald Trump said will haunt her forever.
