Chamber, Rand Paul partner in Alaska

The Chamber of Commerce is teaming up with a surprising ally — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — to help boost the GOP’s chances of winning a hard-fought Alaska Senate race.

{mosads}”Washington is horribly broken,” Paul says in an ad recorded for the group before slamming “liberal” Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska).

“Washington takes too much of our freedoms and too much of our money. I think Dan Sullivan will get it back. To change Washington, change your senator,” Paul says.

The pairing of the business-focused, center-right chamber and the libertarian-leaning Paul is an unusual one. It signals that Paul is looking to build bridges with more establishment-leaning groups as he prepares for a possible presidential run in 2016.

Sullivan and Begich are locked in a tight race, though recent polling has indicated that Sullivan has opened up a lead, leaving some Democrats nervous.

The ad could help Sullivan with the state’s large swath of libertarian-leaning GOP voters.