Lisa Murkowski nasceu em Ketchikan, Alasca, filha de Nancy Murkowski e Frank Murkowski. Seu avô paterno era descendente de poloneses e sua mãe tinha ascendência irlandesa e francesa do Canadá. Quando era criança, ela e sua família se mudou para o Estado, devido ao trabalho de seu pai. Frank Murkowski trabalhou no setor bancário, até que foi eleito para o Senado em 1980.
↑^ Bohrer, Becky (2010-08-24). "Murkowski in close contest for Alaska Senate". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/25/AR2010082500670.html. Retrieved 2010-08-25. "Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski trailed her lesser-known conservative opponent Tuesday in a surprisingly tight race that was seen as a test of the political power of Sarah Palin and the tea party movement." [dead
↑^ Cave, Damien (2010-08-25). "Murkowski of Alaska Locked in a Tight Senate Race". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/us/politics/26primaries.html. Retrieved 2010-08-25. "Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, whose family has held a decades-long grip on one of the state’s two Senate seats, was in a surprisingly tight race Wednesday morning against an insurgent candidate, a Tea Party favorite who received the backing of Sarah Palin."
↑^ Cockerham, Sean (2010-08-31). "It's another Tea Party win as Alaska's Murkowski concedes". Anchorage Daily News. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/08/31/99960/alaska-absentee-count-looks-like.html? Retrieved 2010-09-01. "Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski late Tuesday conceded the Republican primary election to Joe Miller, the Tea-Party backed challenger who maintained his Election Day lead after thousands of additional absentee and other ballots were counted through the day."