U.S. Sen. Frank Murkowski of Alaska, a key energy lawmaker, announced last week that he plans to run for governor of the state next year.

If elected, Murkowski, who has served in the Senate since 1981, would replace current Gov. Tony Knowles, who has served two terms and cannot seek a third under existing law. Murkowski’s current term in the Senate expires in January 2005, but it would be cut short by about two years if he’s successful in his bid to succeed Knowles.

Although there “may be some other very qualified candidates” who may vie for the governorship, “I think he [Murkowski] would be a front-runner,” said a legislative official with a gas trade association. He further doubts that Murkowski, a Republican, would be replaced by a Democrat in the Senate. “There may be a very strong Republican that runs for that seat,” he noted, tossing out Knowles as a possible candidate.

Murkowski, who was chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for years, has been a major influence on energy policy in the Senate. He was demoted to ranking minority member of the committee when the Democrats assumed control of the Senate last June.

The legislative official said he doesn’t believe that Murkowski’s decision to cut short his Senate term will substantially alter the Republican effort in the Senate to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas drilling. “I don’t think it really changes the dynamics on that issue very much.”

Even with Murkowski persistently championing drilling in ANWR, “I’m not sure there’s going to be a vote this year on ANWR or an energy bill for that matter,” he said. The odds of the Senate acting on ANWR and the energy bill before it adjourns this session are “below 50%,” he calculates.

Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) echoed that sentiment for the first time last week, when he conceded that the anthrax scare — which has kept many senators out of their offices for more than a week — may make an energy bill an impossibility this year. He indicated, however, that he still plans to send a comprehensive bill to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD).

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