Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska

Senator is ‘driving the debate’ on exports of American crude

done and do what’s right, even if it means crossing party leaders. She is congenial and well-liked by colleagues and staff on Capitol Hill, but that cloaks a steely core.

“She’s willing to work with folks,” noted McKie Campbell, who has known Murkowski for twodecades.

“There are times when folks mistake that willingness to work across the aisle and the fact that she’s an extremely nice person as a lack of resolve. They always figure that out to their chagrin down the road,”saidCampbell,whoisnowa managingpartnerwithBlueWater Strategies, an energy and environmental consultancy based in Washington.

Murkowski collaborated on legislation with previous Democratic committee chairs, including Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ron Wyden of Oregon andJeffBingamanofNewMexico.

Bingaman, who retired in December 2012, said they had “a good working relationship,” despite butting heads on setting a nationwide clean energy mandate and giving coastal states a greater share of revenues from offshore oil and gas production.

“She has strong views, and she is committed to those views,” he acknowledged. “But she was willing to let the process work itself out and have votes on issues, and that’s the way the Senate is supposedtowork.” Road through refuge

There is perhaps no greater displayofherresolvethananongoing battle over the Interior Department’s decision to block construction of a road from the isolated Alaska community of King Cove through a wildlife refuge, which Murkowski says is essential to giving those living there bad-weather access to emergency medical care. Murkowski briefly blocked Interior Secretary Sally Jewell’s confirmation over the issue.

Murkowski now appears poised to win this battle of wills, courtesy of Republicans’ takeover of the Senate, which put her in chargenotonlyoftheenergypanel that oversees the Interior Department but also the appropriations subcommittee that funds it.

“It’s a little bit different relationship than it wasinthe113th Congress,” Murkowski said. “I’m hopeful that perhaps we will have amoreworkablearrangement.” Pulled in two directions

Murkowski’s views on energy are shaped by her roots as a thirdgeneration Alaskan. Although she espouses an all-inclusive motto — “Energy is good” — her interests frequently dovetail with those of the oil and gas industry. And she has benefited mightily from its largesse, with maritime giant Edison Chouest Offshore, energy provider Constellation Energy and Houston oil company ConocoPhillips the three biggest contributors to her campaign over the past two years. Political action committeesandindividuals associated with the oil and gas sector also have donated $537,131 to her re-election campaign over the past two years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

But she’s also constantly pulled in another direction, by the threats that a melting Arctic poses to native Alaskans wholive off the land and sea. She conceded “there is a tug of war.”

“I come from a state where if we weren’t sensitive to the land, if we weren’t sensitive to our environment, the people who have been there for thousands of years … won’t be able to live off the sea and land as they have,” Murkowskisaid.

That sensitivity sometimes puts her at odds with her own party. But for Murkowski, it’s an easy calculation.

“I am allegiant, faithful to the people of Alaska — period,” she said. “Yes, I am a member of the Republican majority … but I have always put the best interests of Alaska and Alaskans ahead of my party.” Born: May 22, 1957, Ketchikan, Alaska Education: Bachelor of arts in economics, Georgetown University; law degree, Willamette University Family: Husband, Verne Martell; two children, Nicolas and Matthew Résumé: 1987-1989: Anchorage district attorney 1999-2002: Member of the Alaska House of Representatives 2002-present: Member of the U.S. Senate Political background: Murkowski got her start in Washington under a political cloud, as an appointee of her father, Frank Murkowski, who had just vacated his Senate seat for the Alaska governorship in 2002. She was elected to a full term in 2004. After losing the Republican primary in 2010, Murkowski ran for re-election as a write-in candidate. Her victory in the general election made her the first senator to be elected by a write-in vote in more than five decades. She is the state’s first Alaska-born senator. Climate change vote

Murkowski’smostvisiblebreak with many of her GOP colleagues may be on climate change. On Wednesdayshejoinedjust14other Republicans in a vote affirming that human activity contributes to climate change, but voted against a Democratic proposal saying it did so “significantly.”

Her views on climate change andsomesocialissues—including gay marriage and the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on homosexual service members — have evolved during her 12 years intheSenate,achangeMurkowski attributes both to constantly questioning the world around her and the influence of her sons, who constantly challenge her to look at things from their different, generational perspective.

“I have some well-grounded fundamentals that define who I am as a person and that allow me to get a good night’s sleep every night, but … I think it’s important to listen,” she said.

MurkowskicametoCapitolHill under controversy in December 2002, appointed by her father to fill the seat he had just left for the governorship. Voters put her in office for a full six-year term in 2004. Her write-in bid

But Murkowski nearly didn’t make it back in 2010. After losing the Republican primary to tea party favorite Joe Miller, she launched a write-in bid — a longshot effort so improbable that only oneothersenatorhadbeenelected that way, five decades earlier.

Murkowski prevailed, but the close call is a vivid illustration that the moderate Republican’s right flank is vulnerable. Another primary challenge is expected whenshefaces voters nextyear.

Simply focusing on oil and gas policy could be a winning strategy — though Murkowski’s new fight for crude exports is unlikely to radically alter activity in Alaska. Oil harvested on the North Slope and carried through the TransAlaska Pipeline System is already exemptedfromtheexportban.

Murkowski knows the debate over broader crude exports is set to play out over years, but 12 months after declaring war on the crude export ban, she is already seeing some success. The Commerce Department last year interpreted existing regulations to allow a light oil known as condensate to be exported, as long as it is minimally processed in a distillation tower.

The American Petroleum Institute’s upstream director, Erik Milito, credits Murkowski with “driving the debate.”

“It’s important to take that first step and have a dialogue about it, both sides of the aisle discussing pros and cons … and understanding what the facts really are,” Milito said. “She will have a debate that’s not about pointing fingers, it’s about getting to solutions.”

“You should never be afraid to take on the big issues,” Murkowski said. “But timing with the big issues is important, and if the time isn’t necessarily here, then (you consider) how to advance the conversation so it is right.” jennifer.dlouhy@chron.com twitter.com/jendlouhyhc