Failed Alaska U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller is eyeing Sen. Mark Begich's seat, which will be up for contest in 2014, according to Washington, D.C., news website Politico.

In an interview with Politico while Miller was attending the Conservative Political Action Conference in D.C., Miller said that he's ruled out a 2012 run against Rep. Don Young, Alaska's lone congressman.

Miller did say, however, that "2014, that's a different story." And rather cryptically added that Begich "knows what the cards hold on that."

In response, Begich spokesman Julie Hasquet said Alaska's junior Democratic senator "is not focused on who might run in 2014." She said that "he is working for Alaska every day on efforts to open the Arctic to oil and gas development, create jobs, improve education, and support our military and veterans."

Joe Miller came out in Alaska politics with a bang in 2010 when he challenged Sen. Lisa Murkowski. He seemed to have all the right elements to challenge the Republican moderate at a time when moderates across the country were in the "cross hairs." Miller was a West Point graduate and an Iraq war veteran. He received a degree from Yale Law School before heading north. More than that, he spoke the tea party language of limited government and social conservatism.

All of this helped him in a huge primary upset against Murkowski, before discrepancies began to emerge between his words and his actions. And the more reporters dug, the more he dug in. The tension reached a crescendo when Alaska Dispatch executive editor Tony Hopfinger approached Miller to question him after a campaign town hall meeting. In short order, Miller's body guards had slapped handcuffs on Hopfinger.

Murkowski ended up winning in an historic write-in campaign.

Shortly thereafter, Miller formed the political action committee Restoring Liberty, a state and federal PAC. The group is co-registered with the Alaska Public Offices Commission and the Federal Elections Commission. Curiously, Miller is not listed as an official member of either group, and only mentioned in the state group's records as "honorary chair." Restoring Liberty describes its purpose as "To restore liberty; based on the principles and value of the U.S. Constitution."

In March, Miller also signed on to chair Western Representation PAC, a group "committed to supporting candidates who support the Constitution, free markets, and limited government."

At the time, Miller said that he was "thrilled to be joining" the PAC. "We plan to build on that great start and bring the voice of 'We the People' to bear even more as we move towards 2012."

He stepped down from that position in September. Roger Stockton, co-founder and treasurer of Western PAC, said that Miller was paid a "minimal amount" and that they parted ways so that Miller could "focus on the work he's doing there in Alaska with the Restoring Liberty PAC."
Neither the state nor federal "Restoring Liberty" groups show any fundraising activity.

But Miller does have money left over from his U.S. Senate campaign, much of which was raised when he was challenging Murkowski's write-in votes. According to the most recent FEC fillings, Miller has $454,000 cash on hand, which he's able to use to pursue another federal office.

Attending conferences like CPAC qualify for expenses that could be used in that pursuit.

If Miller is serious about an attempt to joust with Alaska's lone Democrat on the Hill, he's got a narrow head start when it comes to finances. Miller's nearly half-million dollar campaign account is $25,000 fatter than Begich's. At the end of 2011, Begich had $428,000, according to FEC filings.  

Money, however, might be the root of evil but it doesn't necessarily buy you political power, particularly in a state of where your name is associated with handcuffs.

Contact Jill Burke at jill(at)alaskadispatch.com and Amanda Coyne at amanda(at)alaskadispatch.com