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Begich defeats Stevens, wins US Senate seat

by Andrew Hinkelman, Mike Ross and Rebecca Palsha
Tuesday, November 18, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Mark Begich, the Democratic Anchorage mayor, has defeated Sen. Ted Stevens in a closely contested, see-saw race for the United States Senate.

After the Division of Elections most recent tally of about 24,000 absentee and early ballots Tuesday, Begich's lead grew to 3,724 votes with only about 2,500 ballots remaining to be counted.

"I think the numbers -- 3,700 votes, is an incredible lead," Begich said in an interview with Channel 2 News from the Loussac Library. "It will be very hard to see that vote total change, so I feel very confident that we are victorious tonight."

Stevens can request a recount, but if the margin is greater than 0.5 percent -- currently it's 1.18 percent -- he will have to pay for it himself or get the Republican Party to foot the bill.

"If there is a recount, I just don't see much of a change," said Begich, who will be the first Democratic elected Senator from Alaska in 40 years. "I believe tonight really settles the issue of the election, and now we can move on as a state and start moving forward on the many issues that we face."

Barring a reversal, the outcome brings an end to Stevens' 40-year tenure in the Senate, the longest ever for a Republican, on the senator's 85th birthday.

"Ted Stevens did a lot of great work for our state, but Alaskans also recognize it's a different day and a different opportunity ahead of us," Begich told Channel 2.

Attempts to reach Stevens for comment Tuesday night were unsuccessful and his campaign did not issue any statements.

State Republican Party chairman Randy Ruedrich said Stevens' campaign never really got off the ground.

"I think the campaign just didn't have an opportunity to get its message out for people to understand what was at stake," he said.

Begich declared victory at about 5 p.m. AST, saying in a statement, "I am humbled and honored to serve Alaska in the United States Senate. 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. I can't wait to get to work fighting for Alaskan families."

His victory followed the trend of the post-Election Day counting that saw a 3,200-vote lead for Stevens turn into a 1,022-vote advantage for Begich at the end of last week after the DOE started counting absentee and early ballots.

Though a potential recount looms, Begich's victory for now ends the furor over whether Stevens should resign -- or be expelled -- in the wake of his seven felony convictions for lying on Senate disclosure forms.

Both Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin, among others, said he should quit his post during the presidential campaign. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., had planned to call a vote to expel Stevens from the Republican Conference, but decided to wait on the election's outcome.

Stevens started Tuesday determined to fight for his position within the party, but the strain of his trial and re-election campaign was evident in his comments to reporters in Washington.

"I haven't had a night's sleep for almost four months," Stevens said. "I've been living about three different lives and it's hard to even answer your questions properly.

"I wouldn't wish what I've been through on anyone, (even) my worst enemy."

But Alaska voters appear to have made all the talk moot, choosing not to return a convicted felon to Washington.

Lisa Murkowski, Alaska's junior senator, said in a phone interview Tuesday from Washington that the Conference probably won't take any action against Stevens now that the election has been decided.

"It was not clear at the time that we went into our Conference (Tuesday) morning ... what was happening with the election, so any action, I had argued, would be simply premature, unnecessary," she said. "I don't believe there will be any action by the Conference if in fact it has become clear that Senator Stevens has not been successful in his re-election effort."

When Begich resigns as Anchorage mayor and heads for Washington, Assembly chair Matt Claman will ascend to the position. A mayoral election was already scheduled for April 7.

With the initial count almost over, Begich has 150,728 votes (47.76 percent) and Stevens has 147,004 (46.58 percent). Under state law, the only time an automatic recount is triggered is in the case of a tie.

Contact Andrew Hinkelman at ahinkelman@ktuu.com, Mike Ross at mross@ktuu.com and Rebecca Palsha at rpalsha@ktuu.com