Declaring that Alaska “cannot accept the extremist views of Joe
Miller,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Friday that she intends
to run as an independent write-in candidate this November.

Murkowski called her decision “a difficult one,” but cited “an
outpouring of support from Alaskans all over the state” as a primary
driver of her decision.

{mosads}Earlier this month, Murkowski conceded a stunning defeat to Tea
Party-backed Joe Miller in the state’s Republican Senate primary, but
after declining to endorse Miller, speculation raged that she would
remain in the race this fall either under the banner of the
Libertarian Party or as a write-in. Sitka Mayor Scott McAdams is the
Democratic Party’s nominee.

Despite meeting with the Libertarian Party’s Senate nominee, David
Haase, Murkowski said earlier this week that she would not run on the
party’s ballot line in November. That left an independent write-in bid
as Murkowski’s final option, and Murkowski admitted that as of
Thursday night she was still undecided.

But on Friday, Murkowski was unequivocal — the incumbent sent a shot
across the bow of both Miller and the Tea Party Express, declaring
“the gloves are off.”

She again hit the Tea Party Express and went after former Alaska Gov.
Sarah Palin, labeling herself “one Republican woman who won’t quit on
Alaska.”

Murkowski referenced her pre-primary pledge to support the eventual
Republican nominee, calling it a statement she regrets and saying, “it
was made before I became aware of the last-minute name calling and
mudslinging” from outside conservative groups.

The senator warned that a write-in bid wouldn’t be easy, but said the
logistics aren’t as daunting as some claim. “Alaskans can’t figure out
how to fill in an oval and spell M-U-R-K-O-W-S-K-I ?” she asked.

The decision to mount an independent write-in bid comes amid staunch
opposition from her party’s leadership in Washington and the national
party made it clear this week that Murkowski would be largely on her
own this fall in such a bid.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made clear Friday night that the party is backing Miller and Murkowski would be out of the leadership if successful.

“I informed her that by choosing to run a campaign against the
Republican nominee, she no longer has my support for serving in any
leadership roles, and I have accepted her letter of resignation from
Senate leadership,” McConnell said in a statement.

Senate Republican leaders previously said they intend to strip
Murkowski of her leadership role if she were to move forward with a
write-in and several of her fellow Republican senators, including
Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Richard Burr
(R-N.C.), told the Hill earlier this week that they will stand behind
Miller despite their personal regard for Murkowski.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee issued a strongly worded
warning Thursday to the incumbent that the national party remains
behind Tea Party-backed Joe Miller.

“If Sen. Murkowski is truly committed to doing ‘what is right’ for her
state, then we hope that she will step forward and fully endorse Joe
Miller’s candidacy,” NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh said in a statement
released Thursday. “No matter what Sen. Murkowski decides for her own
political interests in the future, Republicans are united behind Joe
Miller’s nomination, and we are confident that he will be elected
Alaska’s next U.S. senator in November.”

The Tea Party Express, the group that spent some $600,000 on TV and
radio ads to help Miller defeat Murkowski in the primary, upped its
rhetoric Friday after learning of Murkowski’s write-in plans.

Tea Party Express spokesman Levi Russell called Murkowski “a
power-hungry tyrant” and said, “There is no limit to how hard we will
push back against her in the general election.”

After her defeat, Murkowski decried the influence of the
California-based group, saying in a statement that the Alaska
Republican Party was “hijacked by the Tea Party Express, an outside
extremist group.”

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), who backed Miller in the primary
and has a longstanding political feud with the Murkowskis, reacted to
the news of Murkowski’s decision after a speech to Republicans in Iowa
on Friday.

“It’s a futile effort on her part, it really is,” Palin told reporters
in Des Moines, according to CNN. “She certainly has the right to do
so, but Joe Miller is the right person to lead the state and this
country.”

Democrats used Murkowski’s decision to highlight GOP infighting, with
the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee calling the write-in bid
“just the latest example of the Republican Party cannibalizing itself.
From the tip of Florida, to the beaches in Delaware, all the way to
the islands off Alaska, the Republican Party heads into November with
deep and serious divisions,” said DSCC Press Secretary Deirdre Murphy
in a statement.

The most immediate question now becomes whether or not Murkowski can
actually win as a write-in, something those close to her campaign say
is absolutely the case.

The hurdles are numerous: Murkowski will have to spend a good deal of
money educating voters on the write-in process and observers say that
even the best information campaign won’t prevent likely pitfalls.
Voters will not only have to write Murkowski’s name on the ballot, but
they are required to fill out a corresponding oval for the vote to
count.

The race could also end up in a costly legal battle with Murkowski and
Miller over voter intent on write-in ballots. If a Murkowski backer
were to write “Lisa M.” on a ballot, for example, would that count?

Two things Murkowski does have going for her: name recognition and
money. She’s sitting on some $1.5 million, which is plenty of money in
Alaska and unlike in the GOP primary, she is ready to spend it hitting
Miller ahead of November.

Alaska-based pollster Marc Hellenthal said private polling that he has
conducted on a three-way race between Murkowski, Miller and McAdams
shows “a horserace that’s very much up for grabs.”

J. Taylor Rushing and Sean J. Miller contributed to this story