Republican Incumbent Murkowski Clinches Alaska Senate Race
November 3, 2004
Popular former governor Tony Knowles lost his bid to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Tuesday. Murkowski ended up pulling in 49.5 percent of the vote to Knowles' 45 percent.

The campaigning in the state's most expensive Senate race -- by mid-October, both candidates had spent more than $4 million, according to the Federal Election Commission -- got bitter at times with both candidates firing at each other in television and radio spots.

Murkowski contended in one of her ads that she "fought for the gas pipeline and we won," but "the only person in Alaska not happy seems to be Tony Knowles." Knowles, meanwhile, promised new jobs for the state by building the pipeline and opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. He also criticized Murkowski's vote on the American Jobs Creation Act and charged that she built "a record of putting special interests first," according to National Journal's Almanac of American Politics.

Murkowski Responds to Knowles Criticism
October 22, 2004
Video: In an exclusive interview with KTOO's Alaska Week, GOP U.S. Senate candidate Lisa Murkowski responded to criticism from Democratic rival Tony Knowles and discussed education, Iraq, abortion, taxes on oil companies, courtesy on the campaign trail and the importance of Alaska's open Senate seat.

Video: Interview with U.S. Senate candidate Lisa Murkowski.
-- From KTOO Juneau

With Race Too Close to Call, National Party Figures Campaign for Murkowski, Knowles
October 15, 2004
Video: KTOO's Alaska Week reports on the latest developments in the Alaska Senate race, including new federal funding for a natural gas pipeline, oil exploration in Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, the state of Alaska's economy, the effect of national politics on the Senate campaign, and the impact of national party "stars" who have visited Alaska on behalf of the candidates.

Video: Report on the Alaska Senate race.
-- From KTOO Juneau

Alaska Senate Contenders Duke It Out in Campaign Ads
September 24, 2004
Update: Despite Alaska's solid Republican base that handed George W. Bush a resounding win over Al Gore in the state in 2000, the Senate race between Republican incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski and former Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles remains tight.

As a sign of how close the race continues to be, the candidates are saturating Alaska's airwaves with campaign ads touting themselves as proponents of the state's economy, health, veterans, teachers and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

But they also are taking shots at each other in these areas. In September, the National Republican Senatorial Committee borrowed a page from this year's presidential campaign, airing ads accusing Knowles of flip-flopping on the Arctic Refuge, school accountability and third-party advertising.