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Kelly Tshibaka, who leads the Alaska Department of Administration, announced Monday that she would try to unseat her fellow Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, in next year’s Senate race in Alaska.

Murkowski, who is among the more moderate Senate Republicans, voted to convict former president Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, a move that prompted him to vow to campaign against her next year and drew a censure from the Alaska Republican Party.

Tshibaka, who has led her department since 2019, described herself as a candidate to represent “a new generation of Alaska conservatives” and took aim at Murkowski in an announcement video.

“We know what Washington, D.C., thinks about Alaska: We’re here for their benefit, and we won’t put up much of a fight. After about 20 years in D.C., Lisa Murkowski thinks the same way,” Tshibaka says in a video. “But you know what? Nothing scares the D.C. political insiders more than the thought of a strong, independent Alaskan in their ranks. One they can’t bully. One they can’t control. One they can’t silence.”

Tim Murtaugh, Trump’s communications director in last year’s presidential race, was among those to call attention to Tshibaka’s candidacy, tweeting a link to her new campaign website.

Under a new law in Alaska, Murkowski will not face a traditional primary.

Instead, all Senate candidates, regardless of party, will run in an open primary, with the top four finishes advancing to the general election. At that point, the state will use a ranked-choice system to determine the winner.

Murkowski, who has held her seat since 2002, has demonstrated a knack for getting elected even when rebuffed by others in her party. In 2010, she lost in the Republican primary but mounted a successful write-in campaign in the general election.