Oil money flows one way in Alaska Senate race

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – In Alaska, the question isn’t whether to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, but who can get it done.

Oil and gas issues such as ANWR don’t present much controversy in this state, which owes its wealth to its oil resources. Alaska politicians, Republican and Democrat, are staunchly pro-development, reflecting the views of most of the population.

In this year’s Senate race, both Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski and her Democratic challenger, former Gov. Tony Knowles, have pledged to try to open ANWR and move toward building a gas pipeline from the North Slope. Despite their agreement, the oil and gas industry is banking on Murkowski.

“It’s fairly surprising in that both of them support the development of ANWR and have a lot of the same views on oil and gas. I would think that they would get the same amount of money, or nothing, but here we have a discrepancy,” said Steve Cleary, executive director of the Alaska Public Interest Research Group.

According to a breakdown of campaign donations by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan campaign watchdog group, oil and gas interests have donated more than $139,000 to Murkowski’s campaign, making them her No. 1 industrial supporter.

Donations to Knowles by oil and gas companies, by contrast, don’t even register in his top 20 list of donors by industry.

The reason, according to watchdog groups and some in the industry, is because the money race is not about Lisa vs. Tony, but 51 vs. 49. That’s the 51 seats the Republicans have now to control the Senate, a majority that oil companies would like to keep.

Alaska and a handful of other Senate races across the country are considered tossups. Five of the eight most competitive seats are held by Democrats. Alaska is one of the three held by Republicans.

Alaskans traditionally vote Republican and the state is considered a lock for President Bush on Nov. 2, but the Senate race appears to be close. Murkowski is defending the seat to which she was appointed by her father, Frank Murkowski, when he left the Senate to become governor in 2002. Her appointment has spurred accusations of nepotism, an issue seen as leaving Murkowski vulnerable in the incumbent’s seat.

Oil and gas companies are backing Murkowski because they believe she and a Republican Senate majority give them a better chance of opening ANWR and revisions such as tax policy and permitting across the country.

Congress recently passed financial incentives, including loan guarantees and faster permit approval, for construction of a gas pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope.

Mark Hanley, Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s Alaska representative, said Knowles’ election would go against the industry’s interests, regardless of the Democrat’s position on oil. With Democrats heading Senate committees, the industry wouldn’t be able to get a hearing on ANWR, much less a reversal, Hanley said.

“Nobody’s going to run against oil up here,” Hanley said. But, “if the Democrats controlled the House or Senate … it doesn’t have a prayer. It just doesn’t. If the Republicans control, it does have a chance.”

Anadarko’s political action committee has given $10,000 to Murkowski’s campaign and $20,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which has run several anti-Knowles television ads in the state. Hanley himself has given $1,400 to Murkowski, according to Federal Elections Commission filings.

The PACs of others in the industry – BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, ChevronTexaco, Marathon Oil, Tesoro, Veco, and Halliburton – have also given to Murkowski instead of Knowles.

“The oil and gas industry sees past the political rhetoric and they see the political reality,” Murkowski spokesman Elliott Bundy said. “As much as Knowles says he supports (development), he’s part of a party that says production would never happen.”

The Knowles campaign shrugs off the oil money flowing to the Murkowski camp.

“If these companies want to continue investing in the Murkowski name, which has delivered 24 straight years of failure on ANWR and the gas pipeline, that’s a decision they’ll make,” said Knowles communications director Matt McKenna. “We’re happy with the support we’re getting from the people who work on the (North Slope) now or earlier in their lives.”

Nationwide, the oil industry has contributed $15.4 million to campaigns this year, with 81 percent going to Republican candidates and 19 percent going to Democratic candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Over the past decade, oil money has gone to Republicans by a 3-to-1 margin.

“The most important thing about the race in Alaska is the balance of power in Washington,” said Larry Makinson, a senior fellow with the Center for Public Integrity, a private ethics watchdog group. “I don’t think it’s reflective of the industry’s view of the candidates. It’s absolutely a function of national politics as opposed to state politics.”