U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski put to rest persistent rumors that she wasn’t going to run again in 2016, when her seat is up. “Yes, I’m running,” she said on Friday, where she was attending the first Alaska Women’s Summit at Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage. “I guess I’m announcing on AmandaCoyne.com,” a fact which she and others in the room found amusing.

She did admit that she gets frustrated with her job, but then she thinks about all the work that went into her 2010 write-in campaign to make sure that Joe Miller didn’t take her seat.

“I didn’t work so darned hard to give it up,” she said.

The rumors were perpetuated in large part because she hasn’t been fundraising in the state. She said she wasn’t doing so to allow other Republicans who are running for office in 2014 to raise money. She said she’s doing her fundraising outside of the state.

Indeed, it’s tough for federal candidates to raise money in the state. The only state or territory that gave less so far in the federal 2014 cycle is Guam and Vermont.

Murkowski, a moderate, will likely face a challenger for her seat, and she’ll have to get through another grueling primary. And while she has gained a great deal of respect nationally for her role in ending the shutdown, many say that her stances, particularly on social issues such as gay rights, is going to make it very difficult for her to win the Republican primary.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com