Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) confirmed Friday that she will caucus with the Republicans should she win her write-in bid for a second full term on Nov. 2.

“That’s something that Sen. Murkowski has not made secret. Sen. Murkowski has been a Republican her entire life,” her campaign spokesman Steve Wackowski said, confirming a story published earlier by the Associated Press. “There was never intention for her not to be a Republican.”

Murkowski resigned her position as Senate Republican Conference vice chairwoman and entered the general election as a write-in candidate soon after losing her August GOP primary to Fairbanks attorney Joe Miller. Murkowski kept her position as the ranking member on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, even though some Senate Republicans had wanted to strip her of the job.

Write-in bids are rarely successful. But recent polling has shown that the race is competitive, and the Murkowski campaign is growing increasingly confident that she can win.

An internal survey from the Murkowski campaign taken Oct. 16 and 17 put the incumbent at 34 percent, Miller at 30 percent and Democrat Scott McAdams at 27 percent, with 9 percent undecided.