Alaska's Sen. Stevens loses reelection bid
Democratic challenger Mark Begich takes an insurmountable lead over the longtime senator from Alaska.
Reporting from Seattle — Ted Stevens, the powerful and irascible politician who became an institution in the U.S. Senate while helping to transform Alaska from a rough territory into a modern state, lost his bid for reelection Tuesday, bringing the Democrats within two seats of a filibuster-proof majority.
An excruciatingly lengthy count of early and absentee ballots finally produced a definitive lead for Democratic challenger Mark Begich: 3,724 votes, with about 2,500 left to count. Begich's victory is expected to be officially certified next week, although Stevens could request a recount.
"I am humbled and honored to serve Alaska in the United States Senate," Begich, who is mayor of Anchorage, said in a statement after the largest remaining block of 24,000 ballots was counted late Tuesday. "It's been an incredible journey getting to this point, and I appreciate the support and commitment of the thousands of Alaskans who have brought us to this day."
The results give the Democratic Party seven new Senate seats, with two races yet to be settled. Factoring in the two independents who caucus with Democrats, the party controls 58 seats, with 60 needed to cut off debate.
A recount was to get underway today in Minnesota, where Republican Sen. Norm Coleman led Democrat Al Franken by just 215 votes out of 2.9 million cast. And a Republican incumbent in Georgia, Saxby Chambliss, faces a Dec. 2 runoff against Democrat Jim Martin.
Stevens, the Senate's longest-serving Republican, did not comment on the latest vote tallies. He had held an early lead after the Nov. 4 election, despite his felony corruption conviction. A week earlier, a jury in Washington, D.C., convicted him of failing to report more than $250,000 in home improvements and other gifts from an oil-services industry firm.
As Stevens campaigned, he maintained that he was not a felon and would not be one unless his conviction was upheld on appeal.
The fact that the senator -- a World War II pilot who turned 85 on Tuesday -- came so close to holding his seat was testimony to his revered status across much of Alaska, which he had represented in the Senate since 1968. Voters who supported him cited his record of delivering millions of dollars in federal aid that helped build highways, sewer services, hospitals, airports and schools across the far-flung state.
