A Citizen’s Guide

Gov. Frank Murkowski filed the paperwork today in Juneau to run for another term as governor. Chief of staff Jim Clark reportedly had the honor of running the paperwork down to the Division of Elections.

Talk in the halls of the Capitol is that Murkowski is entering the race just to keep his dreams of a natural gas pipeline alive. The thinking goes that he’ll stay in the race until he finalizes a deal with Exxon Mobil, BP and ConocoPhillips to build the mega project and then drop out before the July 5 withdrawal deadline.

Murkowski’s approval rating is so low that many are saying he can’t possibly win the November general election. The latest poll by Survey USA puts his approval rating at 23 percent. But he could complicate the Aug. 22 closed Republican primary for party favorite John Binkley. Murkowski polls much higher (35 percent) among hardcore Republicans, which is plenty of votes to win a three-way battle with Binkley and former Wasilla mayor Sarah Palin.

If this is a feint by Murkowski, will former Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles drop out when Murkowski does? That would leave Anchorage Rep. Ethan Berkowitz, who’s agreed to drop his own aspiration to be governor to run as lieutenant governor, hanging in the wind.