ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Joe Miller, the Republican U.S. Senate nominee in Alaska, said Monday he will not answer questions about his personal background before the November election.
Miller told reporters in Anchorage the campaign -- in which he is pitted against incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is running a write-in campaign, and Sitka Mayor Scott McAdams, the Democratic Party nominee -- should be about issues and not personal attacks, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
The comment followed allegations that Miller, while working as an attorney for the Fairbanks North Star Borough, used borough resources in 2008 in an attempt to oust Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich, the Daily News said, citing a report by the Alaska Dispatch. The Daily News and several other news organizations have requested the release of records from Miller's employment by the borough.
Miller said Monday "members of the media have gained access to my confidential file, my personnel file" from the borough in "clear violation of law."
"We've drawn a line in the sand," he said following a candidates' debate before the Anchor Chamber of Commerce. "You can ask me about background, you can ask me about personal issues. I'm not going to answer."
Miller is endorsed by the Tea Party Express and has been critical of what he calls the "entitlement mentality" among Americans. Recent media reports indicate his family received medical benefits and hunting and fishing licenses on terms intended for poor residents and that his wife had collected unemployment insurance benefits, the Daily News said.
