Of all the races Palin can claim to have influenced, the one in her backyard is the clearest.
Joe Miller 鈥� a political nonentity with little experience, little money, and no name recognition 鈥� defeated incumbent Lisa Murkowski in one of the biggest upsets of the primary season.
鈥淪he can call him her senator. She elected him,鈥� says Mr. Sabato.
Palin, who has long been at odds with the Murkowski family and defeated Senator Murkowski鈥檚 father, Frank Murkowski, on the way to becoming Alaska鈥檚 governor, came out early in support of Mr. Miller and helped put him on the national map.
Other factors 鈥� including Murkowski鈥檚 failure to respond to the barrage of negative ads run by the Tea Party Express 鈥� contributed to her razor-thin loss, but without Palin鈥檚 backing, it鈥檚 doubtful that Miller would have been a serious contender.
