Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller campaigns retail-style in his bid for U.S. Senate.
Alaska Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller picked up a key endorsement Thursday from the Alaska Right to Life PAC. The latest endorsement underscores Alaskan conservatives’ lack of excitement over the 2010 nominee’s two challengers, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, and former Natural Resources Commissioner and Attorney General Dan Sullivan.
“The pro-life position Joe Miller takes isn’t merely a common political platitude, but is centered in the core of who he is. Joe will be a champion for the pro-life cause in Washington and is exactly the caliber of man we need representing Alaska in the US Senate. Alaska Right to Life’s Political Action Committee is proud to endorse him,” said Executive Director of Alaska Right to Life, Christopher Kurka.
While Dan Sullivan appears to have a consistent money edge in the Republican primary race, with a recent endorsement from The Club for Growth, Miller has been endorsed by PACs who support issues near and dear to the hearts of the conservative base in Alaska. The Combat Veterans for Congress PAC endorsed Miller in December, and he received the endorsement of the National Association for Gun Rights PAC (NAGR) in March. The NAGR endorsement added to a solid pro-Second Amendment standing — which has become a top priority for conservatives — including the endorsement of the Gun Owners of America. Miller also recieved an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association.
Now, with the endorsement of the key pro-life group, Joe Miller, who many see as an underdog in the Alaska Senate race, has defined himself as the true conservative in the race.
“I am honored to receive the endorsement of Alaska Right to Life. Government has been given a sacred trust to protect life, especially the lives of the innocent and most vulnerable among us. This trust is recognized in both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution,” Joe Miller said in a statement.
After decades of finding an American majority identifying with the “pro-choice” designation, Gallup and other pollsters have consistently reported the new majority saying they are pro-life. With the proliferation of information, younger Americans have identified more and more with the pro-life position. And in a state such as Alaska, the pro-life position remains a top value to voters.
According to Gallup’s annual party ID measurement, Alaska is now a full 20 points more Republican than in the previous year, and even farther more Republican than when Mark Begich barely won his seat by just under 4,000 votes. The 2014 Alaska Senate race is currently rated “Leans Republican” on our 2014 Senate Map Predictions at PeoplesPunditDaily.com. The uncertainty of the GOP primary has kept us from moving it to “Likely Republican” on our map.
Though many pundits and Washington insiders view Joe Miller as the underdog in the race, Senior Political Analyst at PeoplesPunditDaily.com, Richard Baris, says he has a clear shot at winning.
“Aside from the fact pundits are referencing polling data far too much in a state that is notoriously difficult to poll, I took a look at this back in January,” Baris said. “And despite what the talking heads say, when you actually look at the data you can observe a very real, very clear path to victory for Mr. Miller.” In the January article he referenced, Baris wrote of the possibility that a “reverse vote-splitting phenomena” could sink the two Establishment candidates.
“That is, typically establishment Republican candidates win primaries because the conservative vote is split between 2 or more anti-establishment candidates,” he wrote. “In the Alaska Senate race the opposite is true, and it is conceivable to see how under the right conditions Joe Miller could upset the GOP establishment on primary night, again.”
