She was an Anchorage district court attorney for two years and then practiced commercial law for eight years before opening her own practice and setting her sights on public office.

Murkowski married Anchorage small-business owner Verne Martell in 1987. They have two sons.

Senate Appointment

In 1998, Murkowski won the first of three terms in the Alaska state House, representing north Anchorage. By 2002, based on her push to raise statewide taxes to make up for a budget shortfall, many conservatives opposed Murkowski's reelection bid. She won the Republican primary against vocational counselor Nancy Dahlstrom by just 57 votes, 486 to 429, and went on to defend her seat in the general election.

Her father was simultaneously running for governor. "We have always maintained very separate identities at least for the time I have been in the legislature," Murkowski said. "I haven't called him for counseling and typically he doesn't offer." Though she ran for House speaker during her 2002 campaign, her colleagues appointed a more conservative representative and named Murkowski the majority leader for the upcoming 2003-2004 state House term.

She never served as majority leader, however, because on Dec. 20, 2002, Murkowski's dad, Frank, appointed her to the Senate seat he was departing after having held it for 22 years. Lisa Murkowski became just the state's sixth senator.

In 2002, Frank Murkowski won the governor's office easily after leaving the Senate with two years left in his term. The Republican-controlled Alaska legislature had recently passed a law that stated the incoming governor would appoint a successor if a Senate vacancy occurred rather than the outgoing chief executive - which in this case was Gov. Tony Knowles (D). Frank Murkowski said he wanted his successor to have legislative experience but be young enough to serve for many years.

On Nov. 15, 2002, he put out a short list of potential nominees. His daughter was on it, as was state Sen. Ben Stevens (R), the majority leader and son of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). "I wanted to take my name off the list two dozen times," Lisa Murkowski said. "It was [about] family. It's a huge, huge commitment."

"I realized that him appointing me and me accepting an appointment was probably the most difficult thing for both of us," she said. "The easiest thing I could have done was to stay in my rather comfortable little universe that I had created. I had a good political career in the state, and my family was pretty well-balanced with how we were working it all. … In my mind and, I believe, in his, he was absolutely certain that I was the best person for it. And you rise above the difficulties the appointment brought with it."

2004 Election Race

Murkowski had history on her side going into the 2004 race for a full-term: no Alaska Republican senator had ever lost.

In the GOP primary she faced former Alaska Senate president Mike Miller (R), who questioned Murkowski's conservative credentials on abortion, the right to bear arms and her efforts to raise the state income tax. Her father's lieutenant governor endorsed Miller. With the backing of Stevens and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), Murkowski won the primary, 58 to 37 percent.

In the general election, Murkowski challenged Knowles, her father's predecessor in the governor's mansion. Knowles had been friends with President George W. Bush at Yale and was mayor of Anchorage before serving two terms as governor. Like Murkowski, Knowles supported drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the gas pipeline. Alaska media noted that each candidate was considered a moderate in his or her own party, and that their positions often seemed to meet in the middle. One difference between them was Knowles stated in October 2004 that he wouldn't have voted to use force in Iraq, while Murkowski said she would have.

Another thing going against Murkowski was a general distaste for what Alaskans saw as the nepotism implied by her appointment by her dad. A ballot measure put forward by three Democratic state representatives to stop governors from appointing new senators passed in November 2004 with 56 percent of the vote. It stipulates that a governor can only appoint a new senator to serve for 60 to 90 days until a special election is held.

Murkowski trailed in the polls through much of the 2004 campaign. She argued that it would be disastrous for Alaskans if Republicans lost their then 51-49 Senate majority. "The Republican agenda is synonymous with the Alaska agenda," Murkowski said during a late campaign stop.

In November, Murkowski won a slim three-point victory, 49 to 46 percent, becoming the first woman Alaskans had elected to Congress.

In January 2009, Senate Minority Leader McConnell (R-Ky.) made Murkowski one of his three "counsels" to provide guidance and advice when the 111th Congress convened , along with Sens. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) and Bob Bennett (R-Utah). She was also made ranking member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (where her father was formerly chairman) and got Sen. Stevens' old position on the Appropriations Committee after he was defeated by Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) in 2008.

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