I'm not from anchorage, but I've always thought of mayor Dan Sullivan as a damn well spoken, well liked conservative guy. Has he run afoul of anchorage conservatives somehow? Every time I hear him speak I think "why isn't this guy already in Lisa's seat?" He doesn't seem to pull any punches...
I like him and would vote for him in a NY minute to replace Murkowski, and everyone I know that isn't union likes him as well. His biggest foe right now are the unions and that can be a big hurdle to overcome.