Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin expressed her interest Tuesday in the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by fellow Alaskan, Democratic Sen. Mark Begich.
In an appearance on Sean Hannity’s radio show, the 2008 vice-presidential nominee elaborated on the prospect of her leaving the Republican Party to form a third party, something she hinted at late last month in an appearance on Fox News.
“Well, [leaving the GOP is] certainly not my first choice,” Palin replied. “The Republican Party is the party of [Abraham] Lincoln and [Ronald] Reagan, and the planks in the platform are right for this country. I stand strong on those planks. I just wish that more of our leadership — the movers and shakers within the party, would stand strong on those planks with the rest of us — those who want to stop Barack Obama’s transformation of America, and the way we do that is by staying true to our principles.”
She explained that Begich is one of the politicians that should be replaced, and confirmed that she is considering a run for his seat.
“I’ve considered it because people have requested me considering it,” she said. “But I’m still waiting to see what the line-up will be and hoping that, there again, there will be some new blood, some new energy, not just kind of picking from the same old politicians in the state that come from political families that have sort of reigned up there for so many years, because too many of them have been part of the problem. But I’m glad you brought that up because Sen. Mark Begich has got to be replaced. He has not done what he has promised to do for the people of Alaska and that was to represent what it is that the nation needs in terms of energy development and so many other natural resource development issues that are near and dear to Alaskans’ heart. Because he is on the wrong side of the aisle, he has to go along to get along with his Democratic leadership, and that’s a shame.”
