Murkowski challenger blogged about ‘evil’ of ‘Twilight’ movie, book series: report

Kelly Tshibaka, who late last month announced she would mount a challenge against Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), supported an organization that promoted so-called conversion therapy and also called the “Twilight” book and film series “evil,” according to a report by CNN’s KFile. 

KFile reviewed past articles and blog posts written by Tshibaka, who resigned from her role as Alaska Department of Administration commissioner to launch her Senate campaign. 

In a 2009 blog post, the GOP Senate candidate said that the popular “Twilight” series “is evil and we should not read or watch it,” specifically arguing that “entertaining and participating in these kinds of activities leaves us spiritually vulnerable.”

“It also leaves us open to the enemy’s attacks,” she added of the film series starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. 

In a 2001 Harvard Law School student newspaper article titled, “The Right Side: Coming out of Homosexuality,” Tshibaka under her maiden name, Kelly Hartline, wrote that gay people can “work through the process of coming out of homosexuality” through Christianity. 

She also urged gay people to “not be controlled by the ‘once-gay-always-gay’ rhetoric used to advance political agendas.” 

Tshibaka, who in her campaign announcement labeled herself as a member of a “new generation of Alaska conservatives,” also in the 2001 article cited the work of Exodus International, a former “ex-gay” nonprofit group that promoted the widely condemned practice of gay conversion therapy.

The organization, which eventually renounced conversion therapy in 2012, officially ceased operations in 2013. 

In one part of the article, Tshibaka argued that “the most common cause of homosexuality is sexual molestation during childhood.”

While CNN noted that many posts on Tshibaka’s social media pages were removed prior to her Senate campaign’s launch, screenshots and posts found by KFile showed that she promoted false claims about the 2020 election, including arguments of widespread voter fraud in several states. 

In a November op-ed, Tshibaka backed investigations into “credible allegations of fraud, voter suppression, and voting irregularities” days after President Biden was projected as the election winner. 

In response to the CNN report, Tshibaka said in a statement to The Hill, “This is just proof that our campaign is gaining momentum, which has Lisa Murkowski and her allies scared to death.”

“This is what CNN does. They see a strong conservative candidate taking on a favorite D.C. insider and they go on the attack,” she added.

In reference to her previous blog post on the Twilight books, Tshibaka said “Children should definitely read more, but the Twilight books don’t hold a candle to Dr. Seuss books, which are today being canceled by the left.”

“I think Alaskans will care more about who will protect their gas and oil jobs than they do about young adult vampire fiction,” she argued.

The Senate candidate also said that the student newspaper article had been assigned to her by an editor as a counterpoint piece, adding, “I don’t hold that point of view today.”

“I strongly believe that we should treat all people with respect and dignity,” Tshibaka told The Hill. “I personally believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, but the Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriage is the law of the land.”

Tshibaka defended her support for investigations into allegations of voter fraud, telling The Hill, “It’s only logical that we apply the same standards that Democrats established in the 2000 and 2016 presidential elections.”

When announcing her Senate bid last month, Tshibaka tweeted that she was running to “represent our conservative Alaska values.” 

“We’re going to defeat Lisa Murkowski and show the DC insiders what happens when Alaska has strong conservative leadership!” she added at the time. 

Murkowski has faced backlash from former President Trump and his supporters, especially after joining six of her Republican colleagues in the Senate in voting to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial over the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. 

Trump himself vowed to campaign against Murkowski in 2022, and the Alaska GOP voted last month to censure its senior senator.

Updated at 4:22 p.m.