Murkowski to Begich: Stop Using My Photo in Your Campaign

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, is calling on her Democratic Senate colleague, Mark Begich, to stop using her photo in campaign ads to highlight what he says is his bipartisan spirit as he runs for re-election, Politico reported.

While Murkoski issued a cease-and-desist letter to the Begich campaign this summer, they did not heed the warning and later used her photo in an ad that ran in late September.

When questioned during a debate with his opponent, Republican Dan Sullivan, Begich said Murkowski only complained because she didn't like the photo, a suggestion she roundly trounced as "offensive," Politico noted.

"She doesn’t dispute the facts that we vote 80 percent of the time on every single item," Begich said when first questioned about the picture. "[That’s] more than any other split delegation in the United States Senate. You know if Congress could work like that, we could get a lot more done. She shouldn’t be embarrassed about that. She didn’t like the photo. That’s what the letter was about, Dan."

Murkowski quickly said Begich was wrong. No, she said in a video clip issued by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Politico reported. "This is not a situation where you want to make sure you got a pretty picture on the TV. That was an offensive statement," Murkowski noted. "And I don’t appreciate that."

"I think it’s important that people understand that no means no."

Despite the photo flap, new polls show Begich making last-minute strides in a tight race, The New York Times reported, his first lead against Sullivan in a month. The Times midterm forecast shows a 71 percent change of a Sullivan Senate victory on Nov. 4.

In an interview with the Washington Examiner last week, Begich admitted to voting for President Barack Obama twice, but told the news outlet that the president was a lame duck with two years left in office. Sullivan's campaign has tied Begich to the president's failed policies, a tactic that is hurting other Democrats in tight midterm contests.

"I did, but that's irrelevant," Begich said when asked if he'd cast ballots for the unpopular president.

He added: "The president's not relevant. He's gone in two years."

Related stories:

• Begich: I Voted for Obama But 'the President's Not Relevant'
• Fox Poll: Alaskans' Opposition to Obama Tipping Senate Race