According to a long, close-up profile of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and her re-election campaign by The Wasington Post, the most prominent Alaskan name in national Republican politics these days may be "Sarah," but in Alaska, "it's Lisa." The Post followed Sen. Murkowski around Fairbanks during Golden Days, the World Eskimo Indian Olympics and other events as she spoke to constituents and supporters. She also spoke to the Post about her job in the Senate and her Republican primary challenger, Joe Miller. There's really too much there to summarize effectively, and it contains quite a bit about how much Alaskans seem to like Congressional incumbents, so read much, much more, here. And incidentally, over the profile's course, the writer manages to depict Alaska's unusual political culture from an Outside perspective more accurately than we've read in a while -- case in point, it quotes an Alaskan Democrat who said -- sincerely, mind you -- that she hopes Sen. Murkowski wins the Republican primary.

For an interview of Sen. Murkowski focusing on her recent visit to Bethel and how the newly-passed federal Tribal Law and Order Act may help rural Alaskans, read Alaska Newspapers Inc.'s recent post (via The Tundra Drums).