By Becky Bohrer

Associated Press

Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he doesn’t see his acceptance of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement as hurting his relationship with the state’s senior U.S. senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, who voted to convict Trump at his impeachment trial last year and whose reelection bid Trump has vowed to fight.

Trump last month praised Dunleavy as a “strong and consistent conservative” and offered his endorsement, provided that Dunleavy does not endorse Murkowski. A Dunleavy campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Dunleavy planned to endorse anyone in the Senate race.

Both Dunleavy and Murkowski face reelection this year. Trump has endorsed Republican Kelly Tshibaka, a former Department of Administration commissioner under Dunleavy, in the U.S. Senate race.

Dunleavy told The Associated Press on Thursday that he and Trump had a “very good relationship,” which he contrasted with the Biden administration. Dunleavy and members of Alaska’s Republican congressional delegation have been at odds with the current administration over issues such as resource development, and they welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of an administration push to require employees at large businesses to get a COVID-19 vaccine or test regularly.

Dunleavy said he is focused on his own race and doesn’t see the dynamic with Murkowski changing.

“Not from my perspective,” he said. Dunleavy said he will continue working with the delegation on issues affecting Alaska’s interests. “I will work with anybody, anywhere, anytime with regards to Alaska.”

Dunleavy, in a wide-ranging interview, also defended the state’s chief medical officer, Dr. Anne Zink. He and Zink have been among the most visible public faces of the state’s COVID-19 response.

Dunleavy was criticized for not issuing a statewide mask mandate earlier in the pandemic and for not taking as strong a position on vaccinations as some wanted; Dunleavy, who tested positive for COVID-19 last February and was vaccinated later, has said that vaccination is a personal decision.

On the other side, some have accused him of pushing vaccines. Alaska led states early on in making vaccines widely accessible. Dunleavy has also been questioned about his issuance of a series of pandemic-related disaster declarations that ended last February.

A Dunleavy spokesperson in July said the governor’s vaccination “was a private decision, which is what he has always advocated for in dealing with this virus.”

Zink, who regularly appears in public forums to discuss COVID-19 and take questions, is among the state health officials who have encouraged vaccination and measures such as wearing masks and testing. Some, including Republican Rep. Christopher Kurka, who is running for governor, have called for Zink to be fired, citing in part her support of vaccines.

When asked if Zink had done anything that would require her to be fired, Dunleavy said, “No.”

He said the pandemic has become politicized. People also are tired of the coronavirus and want to put it behind them, he said. “I think there are faces — mine, Dr. Zink’s, other governors’, other health folks’ — that in some respects people are tired of listening to, tired of looking at,” he said. “You’re going to see candidates … come up with all kinds of attempts to leverage votes and get an advantage.”

Asked if he stood by Zink, he said: “I think I just said that.”

The administration plans to propose for the legislative session that began Tuesday changes in law to address things such as repeated violations of protective orders and an expansion of the crimes considered to be domestic violence in a state where such violence is a scourge. The administration has also proposed an election-related bill that touches on issues such as establishing an online system for tracking absentee ballots and identifying state and federal records and data sources that could be used by election officials in reviewing and updating voter lists.

The bill calls for biennial audits of registered voter lists “in consultation with an external, nationally recognized subject-matter expert” selected by the Division of Elections.

Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer, a Republican, announced last month he would not seek reelection and would instead focus on his work overseeing elections, including the use of a new system that includes open primaries and ranked choice voting in general elections. That system, narrowly approved by voters in 2020, was upheld by the Alaska Supreme Court on Wednesday.

“I need to be impartial so I can meet these challenges head-on, without any appearance of bias or conflict. I think that’s extremely important as far as voter trust and confidence in our election process,” Meyer said in announcing his plans.

Dunleavy has not announced a new running mate.