Freeze Out: Alaska GOP Senate Showdown - Take Two

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska says she is not trying to undermine the Republican Party with her write-in race. She is moving ahead with her decision to run as a write-in (a stance frowned on by the RNC and NRSC) and moving to the center, as she tries to keep her Senate seat.

Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, Murkowski responded to GOP officials who say she is a spoilsport for refusing to back off after losing the Republican nomination to political newcomer Joe Miller. "Listening to my constituents" is the reason she gave for launching her new write-in bid.

Murkowski accused Miller of being too radical for Alaska. She also took aim at Tea Party activists. "The Tea Party Express out of California came in at the last minute and ran a mud-slinging campaign with smears, a terrible campaign with lies and fabrications," said Murkowski. "That influenced the outcome."

Tea Party favorite, Miller appeared on "Fox News Sunday". Miller (who was endorsed by Sarah Palin) said Murkowski is the Republican who is out of touch with voters. "She's not listening very well to the Alaskan voters,' said Miller. "This primary we had the largest turnout of Republican voters in the history of this state."Turnout will be key in the November Alaska election. Miller won by just two thousand votes in the primary contest. On "Fox News Sunday" Republican strategist and Fox News contributor Karl Rove did his best to discourage Murkowski votes. "She can't win," said Rove. "The bigger and more important question is: is she going to keep a conservative Republican from winning."