Ted Stevens endorses Alaska Sen. Murkowski posthumously

In a difficult fight to retain her seat, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has launched a television ad featuring the endorsement of Ted Stevens, a political giant in the state who was killed in August in a plane crash.

Reflecting the sensitivity of the move, Murkowski promotes his endorsement carefully in a minute-long ad, first obtained by Politico.

It begins with Stevens’ daughter, Sue Covich, speaking to the camera about her father’s relationship with Murkowski.

“My dad and Lisa made a great team for Alaska, and were always loyal to each other and the state they loved,” she says.

The two Republicans served together in the Senate for six years; Stevens also served with Murkowski’s father for two decades.

Stevens had endorsed Murkowski’s bid for a second full term and recorded the ad for her, but Murkowski ultimately decided not to air it “out of respect,” Covich explains, “putting our family before her campaign.”

But now the Stevens family wants Alaskans to hear his message.

“I trust Lisa and her commitment to keep fighting for us,” Stevens says. “We need Lisa and the seniority she’s earned, now more than ever.”

The date July 30, 2010, appears on the screen as Stevens speaks. Stevens died Aug. 9 after the plane he was in crashed north of Dillingham, Alaska.

The ad closes with Murkowski standing with Covich, thanking the Stevens family “for the years that they shared their father with Alaska, and for their continued support today.”

When Murkowski lost the Aug. 24 Republican primary to Joe Miller, a Fairbanks attorney endorsed by Sarah Palin, some analysts questioned whether that ad could have saved her campaign.

In September, Murkowski decided to continue running, asking voters to write in her name on the ballot. Most of her television ads since have been lighthearted efforts to educate voters about what to do to ensure their vote for her counts — both filling in an oval and spelling her name correctly.

Polling the race has been difficult because Murkowski’s name will not appear on the ballot. But several recent surveys have shown her just points behind Miller in a three-way contest, with Democrat Scott McAdams also within range.

In one of his recent ads, McAdams offered a tribute of sorts to the late senator, choosing an “Incredible Hulk” tie like the one Stevens often wore.

McAdams spokeswoman Heather Handyside said there was still “deep respect” for Stevens in Alaska and that Murkowski had not been as effective an advocate for the state.

“She’s voted with Mitch McConnell 90% of the time, and voted against $400 million projects that would have helped Alaska,” Handyside said. “If Mitch McConnell told Ted Stevens to vote no on all appropriations, Sen. Stevens would have told Mitch McConnell to take a hike.”

michael.memoli@latimes.com