OutSpent
Independence Score
Lisa Murkowski

Lisa Murkowski

Republican · AK· In the Senate since 2003 (23 yrs)

33F/ 100

Heavily reliant on concentrated money.

Why this grade

Every score is built from money facts you can check. Here's what drove it.

Who funds them63% of grade

2.7% of their money comes from small donors; 37% comes from PACs.

Their leadership PAC38% of grade

$3,985,200 in PAC money flows through their leadership PAC (DENALI LEADERSHIP PAC).

Where the money comes from

$367K

Career donations from the seven industries that most often buy influence, and the biggest names in each.

Oil & energy$192,681

ConocoPhillips $105K · Chevron $54K · ExxonMobil $26K · Am. Petroleum Inst. $8K · Marathon $500

Banks & finance$103,254

BlackRock $36K · Blackstone $24K · Am. Bankers Assn. $20K · Citadel $11K · Goldman Sachs $8K

Big Tech$32,050

Google $18K · Microsoft $11K · Apple $2K · Oracle $300 · Amazon $250

Pharma$29,650

Johnson & Johnson $22K · Pfizer $4K · PhRMA $3K · Merck $500

Telecom$6,312

AT&T $5K · Comcast $1K

Real estate$1,750

American Tower $1K · Natl Assn of Realtors $500

Defense$1,250

General Dynamics $1K · Raytheon $250

Source: FEC career receipts. It's all legal. That's the point.

The money votes

On the Senate votes where concentrated money was on the line, here's which way they went. Sided with the money on 19 of 21.

Pass the 2025 reconciliation tax packageVoted with the money

H.R. 1 · 2025. Its largest benefits flow to corporations and top earners. A yes vote sided with the donor class.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Revoke California clean-cars waiverVoted with the money

H.J.Res. 88 · 2025. Revoked California's EV-standards waiver. A yes vote sided with oil and legacy-auto interests against the EV transition.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Repeal bank overdraft-fee capVoted with the money

S.J.Res. 18 · 2025. Killed the CFPB cap on overdraft fees at the biggest banks. A yes vote sided with their fee income.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Repeal big-tech wallet oversightVoted with the money

S.J.Res. 28 · 2025. Killed CFPB supervision of big-tech payment apps (Apple/Google/PayPal-style). A yes vote sided with those firms.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Repeal methane emissions feeVoted with the money

H.J.Res. 35 · 2025. Killed the EPA fee on oil-and-gas methane leaks. A yes vote sided with the fossil-fuel industry that would have paid it.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Repeal crypto-custody rule (SAB 121)Voted with the money

H.J.Res. 109 · 2024. Killed the SEC rule making banks hold capital against customer crypto. A yes vote sided with crypto firms and banks.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Repeal small-business lending data ruleVoted with the money

S.J.Res. 32 · 2023. Killed the CFPB rule making banks report small-business lending data (used to spot bias). A yes vote sided with the banks.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Repeal ESG/climate investing ruleVoted with the money

H.J.Res. 30 · 2023. Killed the rule letting retirement plans weigh climate risk. A yes vote sided with fossil-fuel and asset-management interests.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Inflation Reduction Act (drug prices)Voted with the money

H.R. 5376 · 2022. Let Medicare negotiate drug prices for the first time. A no vote sided with the pharmaceutical industry.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Freedom to Vote ActVoted with the money

S. 2747 · 2021. Aimed to curb big money and tighten disclosure. Blocking it protected dark-money spending.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

For the People ActVoted with the money

S. 2093 · 2021. Carried donor-disclosure and anti-big-money rules. Blocking it sided with undisclosed money.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Restore net neutralityHeld the line

S.J.Res. 52 · 2018. Reversed the FCC's repeal to restore net neutrality. A no vote sided with the broadband carriers.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Roll back Dodd-Frank (S.2155)Voted with the money

S. 2155 · 2018. Exempted midsize banks from Dodd-Frank oversight. A yes vote sided with the banking industry.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Pass the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs ActVoted with the money

H.R. 1 · 2017. Its biggest cuts went to corporations and top earners. A yes vote sided with the donor class.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Repeal CFPB arbitration ruleVoted with the money

H.J.Res. 111 · 2017. Killed the rule letting customers sue banks in class actions. A yes vote restored forced arbitration.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Repeal broadband privacy ruleVoted with the money

S.J.Res. 34 · 2017. Let internet providers sell your browsing history. A yes vote sided with the telecom carriers.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Repeal oil/gas payment disclosureVoted with the money

H.J.Res. 41 · 2017. Killed the rule making oil and mining firms disclose payments to governments. A yes vote backed industry secrecy.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Allow drug imports from CanadaHeld the line

S.Amdt. 178 · 2017. Would let Americans buy cheaper drugs from Canada. A no vote protected U.S. pharma pricing.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Approve Keystone XL pipelineVoted with the money

S. 1 · 2015. Forced approval of the oil pipeline backed by the fossil-fuel industry, bypassing review.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Overturn Citizens UnitedDid not vote

S.J.Res. 19 · 2014. A constitutional amendment to let Congress regulate campaign money. A no vote sided with unlimited spending.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

DISCLOSE Act, second tryDid not vote

S. 3369 · 2012. Second attempt to unmask Super PAC and corporate donors. A no vote blocked the disclosure rule.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

DISCLOSE Act (unmask dark money)Voted with the money

S. 3628 · 2010. Would have forced disclosure of dark-money donors. A no vote protected anonymous corporate spending.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Pass Dodd-Frank Wall St. reformVoted with the money

H.R. 4173 · 2010. Wall Street fought Dodd-Frank. A no vote sided with the banks against the new rules and the CFPB.

See who voted Yea & Nay →

Source: Senate roll-call records. “With the money” means the vote favored the industry whose cash was at stake. It's not a judgment of right or wrong.

On the cards

How to read the grade

We grade money behavior, not party. Both parties run the full range. We show the averages in the open: the typical Democrat scores 68, the typical Republican 55. Source: FEC receipts (small-donor vs PAC) and leadership-PAC filings. Nothing here alleges a crime. The point is that it's all legal.

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