Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is preparing to announce a 2028 run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Lisa Murkowski, according to several sources close to the governor who spoke exclusively to Fox News this week.
The move would place him against Murkowski, who has repeatedly clashed with President Donald Trump and is often viewed as one of the most moderate Republicans in Congress. Dunleavy, by contrast, has been a strong Trump ally since 2016, Fox News
“He’s not going to quit his term,” a top source close to Dunleavy, who previously worked with him in Juneau, told Fox News Digital. The source stressed that Dunleavy intends to complete his time as governor before seeking higher office.
The last governor to leave office early to pursue national ambitions was Sarah Palin, who resigned in 2009. “She never recovered,” the source said.
Dunleavy has earned a reputation for avoiding Washington’s spotlight but producing results in Alaska. “He’s not about an ego and pushing himself in front of the cameras. He gets stuff done,” the source said. “He doesn’t like the cocktail parties and photo ops.”
Even so, those close to him say he understands that “being in Washington is the only way to get things done.” While he has joked that he prefers Alaska’s Arctic landscapes to “all this concrete” in Washington, he recognizes the need to represent the state at the national level.
Dunleavy was the second governor to endorse Trump in 2016 and has been one of the most frequent governors to visit the White House despite the 3,500-mile distance. “Trump has talked to him before about running and wants him to run,” the source said.
Dunleavy also attended Trump’s Aug. 15 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, further underscoring his role as one of the president’s key allies in Alaska.
Winning as a Republican in Alaska has historically been difficult. Former Gov. Jay Hammond was the last to win re-election in 1978. Sean Parnell, who became governor after Palin’s resignation, did not win re-election outright.
Still, Dunleavy is seen as a formidable candidate. “A lot of people have mentioned this (race) to him and … I think it is a very viable option for him,” another source told Fox News Digital.
“Obviously there are a lot of frustrations with Sen. Murkowski,” the source added, noting her tense relationship with Trump. “Gov. Dunleavy has been not only a successful governor, but a strong ally for him. So it’s only natural that he’d be hearing that from Alaskans — but also from folks in the broader MAGA movement.”
Dunleavy, like Murkowski, has succeeded under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, which critics say has benefited Democrats. But unlike her past challengers, sources say he has broad support outside conservative circles.
He is also respected among Native communities across the North Slope and rural Alaska, where he has focused on energy development, infrastructure, and rural education. Those ties could prove critical in a statewide race where the Native vote has often played a decisive role.
“Murkowski has never faced a challenger like him,” another source said. “He’s built support that goes beyond just conservatives.”
A top Alaska political analyst agreed. “Conservatives would welcome an opportunity to unseat Murkowski,” the analyst said Thursday. “The fact that Trump and Murkowski have had such a strained relationship and Dunleavy and the president (have) a good relationship is really what has led us to this point.”
Murkowski, the daughter of former Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski, has shown her resilience in the past. She famously won a write-in campaign in 2010 after losing the GOP primary to Tea Party candidate Joe Miller. But analysts say Dunleavy would represent her most serious threat yet.
The 2028 matchup would pit two of Alaska’s most prominent figures against each other: Murkowski, the entrenched moderate with a family legacy in Alaska politics, and Dunleavy, the Trump-aligned governor who has drawn support across communities.
A federal indictment unsealed Monday charges former Tamaulipas governor Tomas Yarrington Ruvalcaba, 56, and Mexican construction firm owner Fernando Alejandro Cano Martinez, 57, with conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
The two are also accused of conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to defraud, and conspiracy to make false statements to federally insured U.S. banks. A federal grand jury in Brownsville returned the indictment in May, and it was unsealed Dec. 2, according to an August press release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The charges were announced by U.S. Attorneys Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas and Robert L. Pitman of the Western District of Texas.
The case is the result of a multi-agency probe involving ICE Homeland Security Investigations, the DEA, IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and the Texas Attorney General’s Office, the release said.
Yarrington Ruvalcaba, 56, and Mexican construction firm owner Fernando Alejandro Cano Martinez, 57, have been indicted on RICO charges, along with conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to defraud, and conspiracy to make false statements to federally insured U.S. banks. A federal grand jury in Brownsville returned the indictment in May, and it was unsealed Dec. 2.
According to the filing, Yarrington began taking large bribes from major traffickers, including the Gulf Cartel, in the late 1990s. In exchange, he allegedly allowed their multi-ton drug operations to flourish, including cocaine smuggling into the U.S. through the Port of Veracruz from 2007 to 2009, said ICE.
The indictment also alleges Yarrington accepted bribes from commercial businesses. Cano Martinez, whose company Materiales y Construcciones Villa de Aguayo secured major public works contracts under Yarrington’s governorship, is accused of funneling kickbacks to him, including real estate purchased under front names, the agency’s release added.
Yarrington additionally faces charges of conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act, conspiracy to structure financial transactions, and two counts of bank fraud. Cano Martinez faces separate bank fraud charges.
Yarrington governed Tamaulipas, the Mexican border state across from Brownsville and Laredo, from 1999 to 2004, the ICE release noted further.
The indictment alleges Yarrington Ruvalcaba gained access to stolen public funds in late 2004, using part of the money to purchase a Sabreliner 60 jet the following January. About $300,000 from that transaction was transferred into a U.S. bank account, while another $5 million in pesos was allegedly sent to Cano Martinez in spring 2005.
Prosecutors say Yarrington and Cano Martinez began acquiring U.S. assets as early as 1998, concealing ownership through front names and shell companies established after 2005. The assets included residences, aircraft, vehicles, and real estate in several Texas counties, financed in part through fraudulent multimillion-dollar loans from Texas banks. Bank accounts under aliases were allegedly used to pay ongoing expenses, including loan payments and condominium fees.
The indictment details more than $7 million in transfers into U.S. accounts tied to these entities. Additional shell companies were allegedly created to seek further loans, while structured deposits under $10,000 at First National Bank in Edinburg, Texas, were used to evade federal reporting requirements, said the agency.
Neither Yarrington nor Cano Martinez is currently in U.S. custody, and arrest warrants remain outstanding. Homeland Security Investigations has urged anyone with information on their whereabouts to call 956-542-5811, or 001-800-010-5237 from Mexico.
If convicted, the defendants face decades in prison: up to 20 years for RICO and money laundering, 30 years for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, at least 10 years on drug conspiracy charges, and five years for currency structuring, ICE said.
“The indictment also includes a notice of forfeiture. Some assets identified in the indictment already have been seized by the United States in civil forfeiture actions over the course of the investigation, including: about 46 acres in Bexar County, a condo on South Padre Island, a 2005 Pilatus airplane, and residences in Hidalgo and Hays counties,” said the release.