Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens Loses Re-election Bid to Mark Begich
EmailFrom the ABC News Political Unit:
The longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate, Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, lost his re-election effort to Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, bringing the Democratic net gain in the U.S. Senate to 7 seats.
Begich tonight leads Stevens by 3,724 votes at the current count with roughly 2,500 overseas ballots left to be counted.
Stevens could not survive a conviction on federal corruption charges in connection with his failure to disclose more than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations he received from an oil field services company.
The six-term senator, who turned 85 today, had faced calls for his resignation in light of the conviction and he even possibly faced his colleagues expelling him from the Senate if he had won another term.
Stevens or 10 voters may request a recount within 5 days of state review, but the losing campaign would have to cover the cost of a recount. Alaska only has automatic recounts when the results are tied.
The Alaska victory means that Democrats will begin the next Congress with at least 58 members who caucus, just two votes shy of a filibuster-proof majority. They could still reach that important margin with the results of one race in Minnesota still not clear and a runoff election in Georgia.
Shortly after the Alaska Board of Elections released the updated count, the Begich campaign claimed victory.
"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," Begich said.
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Good riddance, Stevens.
Posted by: Can O' Whoopass | November 18, 2008, 5:52 pm 5:52 pm
NOOOOO!!!
Posted by: ElodieStClair | November 18, 2008, 5:59 pm 5:59 pm
To the ABC Political Unit -
Check the last paragraph of the
Steven’s article. You should use spellcheck and the grammar check before you publish for public consumption.
“sever” – you have to be kidding.
Posted by: ET | November 18, 2008, 6:01 pm 6:01 pm
Yep one less crook in Congress. Hopefully, they’ll go after a few more…we know they’re up there.
Posted by: Grand Old Party | November 18, 2008, 6:01 pm 6:01 pm
This must be a blow to Palin, I think she was really hoping to replace Steven’s and get her foot in the door of major politics since she is eyeing the election for 2012. I for one will not even consider her again, she just needs to stay in Alaska if that is the type of people they vote into office. Look at what Stevens did and how she has gotten the State to pay for all of her families expenses while she has been in office.
Posted by: Kathy | November 18, 2008, 6:05 pm 6:05 pm
Goodbye and good riddance to another sewer rat. One down and many to go.
Posted by: democratic | November 18, 2008, 6:06 pm 6:06 pm
I just wanted to point out the grammatical typo in paragraph three. It should read “failure to disclose”.
Posted by: Kelsey | November 18, 2008, 6:17 pm 6:17 pm
Alaska will be hurt even if I did vote for Mark! You go dude!
Posted by: A real Alaskan | November 18, 2008, 6:18 pm 6:18 pm
YESSSS!!!!!!!! Ha ha haaaaa!!!!! Peace OUT Stevens. Don’t let the door hit you in the…
Posted by: marie | November 18, 2008, 6:27 pm 6:27 pm
Problem is the only crooks being voted out are Republicans. The Dems never get rid of the sewer rats! Can’t start fresh until you get rid of all of them. Ted Kennedy is a drunken murderer. Jefferson from Louisiana took bribes and stored them in his freezer. Don’t even get me started on John Murtha. Then of course there was the one in Florida that replaced Foley. He used public money to keep an affair quiet. These are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
Posted by: GK_1972 | November 18, 2008, 6:27 pm 6:27 pm
bye bye palin….good times
Posted by: arj | November 18, 2008, 6:28 pm 6:28 pm
Now the shopaholic won’t get to ride the coat tales of a convicted felon into the Senate. Ain’t life grand!!!
Posted by: JimM | November 18, 2008, 6:29 pm 6:29 pm
Ted’s career has gone down ‘a series of tubes’!
Posted by: Ford Fairlane | November 18, 2008, 6:42 pm 6:42 pm
Haha another bloody nose for Palin. Good, good. Cleaning up after the corrupt republicans is going to take a while. Im convinced Palin will lose her governors seat next election too.
What will she do then? She’s not even qualified to flip moose burgers.
Posted by: JoeShmoe | November 18, 2008, 7:12 pm 7:12 pm
I think Palin went on record already as stating she didn’t want the senate seat didn’t she?
Unless I didn’t hear her correctly in her interviews on her return to Alaska following the election.
Posted by: Shopkeep | November 18, 2008, 7:36 pm 7:36 pm
Seldom has a defeat been so well deserved as that of Ted Stevens. It makes an excellent birthday present for him: he’s 85 corrupt, decadent, repressive, mean-spirited years old. It is also an excellent gift for us the public in general. In dollars-and-cents terms, it may not be as easy to quantify as what has probably happened to any 401(k) account balance you may have, but at least it represents a sort of compensation for what you’ve lost, thanks to the ideology of the powers-that-be.
Posted by: iratior | November 18, 2008, 7:40 pm 7:40 pm
just another symptom of the greed and brazen crookedness of people with no regard of who they hurt to get what they want, incuding the residents of the state who love their porkkkk, i should know, im in Texas, the worst!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: kent m. | November 18, 2008, 7:50 pm 7:50 pm
This still means that almost half of people in Alaska voted for a convicted felon. It shows that they are more interested in what boondoggles he has brought to Alaska than if he is honest and moral. Makes you wonder what they based their support of Palin on.
Posted by: vissionquest | November 18, 2008, 7:55 pm 7:55 pm
Thank god for this, another criminal will not be representing the American people
Posted by: Mike in Ky | November 18, 2008, 8:03 pm 8:03 pm
AWWWW… shucks… I was looking forward to having the first federal criminal actually to be elected to Senator… oh well… there are plenty more scoundrels in the GOP…
Posted by: WHAAAAMBULANCE | November 18, 2008, 8:09 pm 8:09 pm
Its shocking that Alaskans almost voted this guy back in- even with 7 felonies against him. It does give you a clearer understanding though as to how Alaskan voters also elected an airhead like Sarah Palin.
No doubt Ted has been on the take for a long time, I dont think that he just now starte taking bribes. Its just now that we finally caught him.
If he had won, then the Senate ejected him, then Palin appointed someone till 2010 when there would have been a new election, her term as governor would have been over and she could have run for the seat and positioned herself for a presidential run in 2012. Now she’s been denied. Woo Hoo. People are nuts if they think she has even a 5% chance of being the nominee in 2012. No way she could beat Obama in 2012, Hillary whose 25 times more brillant, couldnt even beat Obama.
Bye Sarah, Bye Ted.
Posted by: Janet | November 18, 2008, 8:34 pm 8:34 pm
This servant to the legal system he propagated has met his due justice. Not only will he feel the wrath of the federal sentencing guidelines he supported but he will be eliminated by the Senate rules he helped formulate. The Republicans in Alaska demonstrated their naivity by actually wasting their resources on following this stalwart to defeat, even though the ‘Rule” required he be stripped of power.
Posted by: Anchoragemikey | November 18, 2008, 8:48 pm 8:48 pm
Ted is toast.
Watch for Sarah on your TV.
High positives with Higher negatives is bad for politics but great for entertainment. Sarah Palin is a crowd pleaser… even if she has to talk trash to please the boobs. That’s a sure fit for the boob tube…
Palin 2012 – only if you want the GOP to have no future in national politics… We’ll see…jt
Posted by: Joey Tranchina | November 18, 2008, 8:53 pm 8:53 pm
“If he had won, then the Senate ejected him, then Palin appointed someone till 2010 when there would have been a new election”
—————————————
Unlike in most states, the governor of Alaska does not have the authority to fill a vacancy.
Posted by: bugg | November 18, 2008, 10:53 pm 10:53 pm
Next move for Alaskans – file mechanic’s liens on all the work done with tax payer dollars on that house and move him off to his own floating piece of ice. Better yet — sit him on Palin’s back porch so he can watch Putin — security at it’s best.
Posted by: Yankee | November 19, 2008, 12:30 am 12:30 am
Or perhaps, the question the self-righteous Democrats should be asking is why Alaskans wanted so badly to NOT have Begich that they’d rather vote for a convicted convict..
Or perhaps the people in AK felt like Stevens was railroaded in several respects during his trial, and have more faith and belief in him after his many years serving the states’ interests so well – abhor them if you’re not Alaskan, why would you not love them if you are?
Or perhaps, WHAAM, you should actually know what you’re talking about before typing. Palin would not get to appoint anyone if Stevens had been elected and then ousted by Congress – there would have been a special election. So perhaps the people in AK, who’ve traditionally voted Republican, voted for Stevens in the HOPE of that scenario because then at least they’d have the chance to put up a candidate with a real shot against Begich.
You know – just thoughts, though I’m sure it’s tough to believe that people who have probably never been to the state, much less lived there, might understand ‘Alaskan People’ far less than you think you do.
Posted by: Or Perhaps.. | November 19, 2008, 2:08 am 2:08 am
Shopkeep…she did say that in the first interveiw. By the time she got to Miami, no I think it was with Matt Laur she was willing to go through that door if God wanted her to. By the time she got to Miami, She said if the people of Alaska wanted her to serve in that capacity she would. I am glad THAT door is closed. I know she is having a bad day.
Posted by: Kaye Bradley | November 19, 2008, 2:37 am 2:37 am
“Witless in Wasilla” LOL!!!
Posted by: Kaye Bradley | November 19, 2008, 2:40 am 2:40 am
Dont count Palin out just yet. This woman is not as dumb as many of you think she is. Good riddens to Stevens – he should have resigned gracefully. Sad to think that this may give Pelosi, Reid, and Barney Frank and Chris Ddodd the filibuster proof majority that they want. The clowns, along with Obama, that caused this financial mess will get more chances to lead us down the road to disaster !!
Posted by: jimbo | November 19, 2008, 2:42 am 2:42 am
we need term restrictions for all of congress. they can’t stay there for 30 years without getting corrupted. 2 to 3 terms at most then there out permanently. They pick up too much baggage, owe too many people and start to look upon there seat as a right instead of a privilege.
Posted by: richard warren | November 19, 2008, 2:53 am 2:53 am
Another one bits the the dust. YEah, now maybe Sarah will disappear.
Posted by: Jenny Rome Ga | November 19, 2008, 3:01 am 3:01 am
RE:GK_1972
You sound like a cry-baby to me. You are just upset that the GOP is finally getting their due. There have been plenty of Democrats who were pounced for their unlawful deeds. You sound like the typical GOPea brain…if you don’t like the facts…you make up lies to counter them. It didn’t work this election did it? LOL!
Posted by: sane democrat | November 19, 2008, 4:01 am 4:01 am
Sarah has said she will look for a signal from God to find open doors in order to make a future run for the Presidency. OK Sarah, here’s the facts. God has now sent you two signals: The first was, you got your clocked cleaned as the vp candidate. The second signal is God just shut the door on you for a Senate campaign to fill Stevens seat. How many more siganls do you need? Take a hint, God doesn’t want you to run and neither does anyone else. Goodbye and good ridance to both you and Stevens.
Posted by: Drew Hoffman | November 19, 2008, 4:06 am 4:06 am
Drew Hoffman – I’m not sure I entirely agree with you. As a Democrate I think I would like Palin to be the GOP nominee in four years. She would be the easiest to beat!
Posted by: PhilBgood | November 19, 2008, 4:17 am 4:17 am
Awwhh Golly, Ya Know, I’ll Betcha Gov Palin is a little hurt.
I guess GOD decided to close that particular door before she could plow through it!
As VP Biden would say, God Love Her; and her silly ambitions.
Posted by: New Day | November 19, 2008, 4:50 am 4:50 am
Does this mean there are now more Democrats in Alaska than Republicans?
Posted by: whybeconservative? | November 19, 2008, 5:39 am 5:39 am
Nor SHOULD he survive a re-election bid after being CONVICTED. He was a fool to even run.
Posted by: R Berge | November 19, 2008, 5:42 am 5:42 am
I am amazed at the cruelty of the people who wrote messages. I am thrilled that Sarah Palin would attempt to run for anything in this nation. The Bible says you reap what you sow and this nation is about to reap. Enjoy all you who voted Democrat.
Posted by: bren | November 19, 2008, 5:56 am 5:56 am
Palin ran and won, ironically, on an “anti-corruption” platform… and immediately cuddled up with Uncle Ted, the Pork King.
But be fair — how many other people in Congress, on both sides of the aisle, are there not because they are paragons of personal integrity or because of their stand on issues but because they bring home the bacon for their home districts (and especially for big corporate donors)? I’d guess it’s the majority. Money corrupts, and corporate PACs corrupt thoroughly.
Alaska is far from unique in this regard. It is to the credit of Alaskans that this time, by a slim margin, they decided to toss the rascal out.
Look to your own house before you mock ours.
Posted by: Yukon Sam | November 19, 2008, 6:10 am 6:10 am
Unbelievable! How come a convicted felon is allow to run for anything after being exposed publicly? What is wrong with Alaska voters? Well let see, based in their candidates choice, Sarah Palin and Ted Stevens, I don’t think I wanna visit any time soon. I have always consider taking a cruise over there but after the presidential elections I think all I’m going to find is ignorance and backguard people!
Posted by: LeslieMystic | November 19, 2008, 6:23 am 6:23 am
It seems to me that if felons can’t vote, they shouldn’t be allowed to run for office, either. Ergo, Stevens never should have been on the ballot.
Posted by: Lee | November 19, 2008, 7:00 am 7:00 am
Excellent!
Posted by: LongT | November 19, 2008, 7:30 am 7:30 am
Lee,
The key is you don’t become a convicted felon until AFTER you win the election.
Posted by: AmazedCitizen | November 19, 2008, 7:50 am 7:50 am
If convicted felons can run for Senate, shouldn’t we let convicted felons vote?
The support Stevens received was likely a factor of the Federal money he brought in.
Posted by: Paige | November 19, 2008, 8:08 am 8:08 am
“Sarah has said she will look for a signal from God to find open doors in order to make a future run for the Presidency.”
—————-
Liar, she said that she might consider running for President if God opens a door. In other words, she is not going to force anything. That’s a far cry from “look for a signal from God to run for President.” You are trying to paint her as a religious loon, and you are willing to lie to achieve it. May your same tactics come back to bite you.
Posted by: Mike | November 19, 2008, 8:11 am 8:11 am
Vietnamvetx what would one expect from Palins home town news paper where those people posted threats to anyone who disagreed with palin and her policies..I cann see those types pushing their views on the younger generation.
Posted by: jojobo1 | November 19, 2008, 8:14 am 8:14 am
“I am amazed at the cruelty of the people who wrote messages. I am thrilled that Sarah Palin would attempt to run for anything in this nation. The Bible says you reap what you sow and this nation is about to reap. Enjoy all you who voted Democrat.”
—————–
It won’t be such an isolated thing as “America’s fall.” The Bible is clear that God will allow sin to mount upon sin in the last days before His final act of judgment. Perhaps America, and the world for that matter, are just getting warmed up.
Posted by: Mike | November 19, 2008, 8:15 am 8:15 am
Love when hypocritical republicans quote the bible…its soooooo cool…..
are these the same republicans who now think its ok for a minor to get pregnant( oh my god…..that would mean SEX, and then what dancing and touching….oh my auntie Em…)and carry a baby to term because its one of lipstick palins platoon of children. what did the first dude have to say….
For the republicans who didn;t vote for Obama I say this….
President Obama……..sort of flows doesn’t it…….
Posted by: chris | November 19, 2008, 8:56 am 8:56 am
oh yes and by the way..how did that McCain/Palin thing work out?
Posted by: chris | November 19, 2008, 8:58 am 8:58 am
“The clowns, along with Obama, that caused this financial mess will get more chances to lead us down the road to disaster !!”
The quote above is from a Jimbo who wrote in response to Stevens’ loss. Let us remember that you cannot blame President-Elect Obama or any other Democrat for the careless destruction of our economy. That honor goes to George W and his administration. Remember, for what is was worth, Bill Clinton left his presidency with an economic surplus, and the respect from other countries. Bush squandered his “capital”, and will now ride into the sunset leaving the American people to clean up the mess he and his minions left behind.
Posted by: Ray Acevedo-Flores | November 19, 2008, 9:19 am 9:19 am
I am honestly sad to see Senator Stevens political career end like this. However, I am sure they will find a park, building, airport or something to name after him in his HONOR.
Posted by: AmazedCitizen | November 19, 2008, 9:26 am 9:26 am
Good to see the end of “King Pork” and the non-begining of “Queen Sarah”
Posted by: jimsusa | November 19, 2008, 10:39 am 10:39 am
i think it’s cool that our airport here in anchorage is now named after a felon!
really, though, it’s sad that he just got so greedy and lazy. the man has done a lot of good for alaska–not just pork-barrel stuff though there was a lot of that. though uncle ted lied and is getting what he deserves for it, the real criminal is our congressman don young. too bad the guy running against him was an arse as well.
Posted by: blackpete | November 19, 2008, 12:38 pm 12:38 pm
I almost thought Alaska voters had there head up there #*% when the first returns came in showing Stevens in the lead, thank god things worked out and the good people of Alaska dont have to go through the humiliation of watching their newly re-elected felon senator get tossed out of the senate for his corruption convictions. The negative attention showered on the state during Sarah Palins V.P. run was bad enough!
Posted by: Jeff Smith | November 19, 2008, 1:54 pm 1:54 pm
I guess Sarah Palins supporters God has the following traits: loves to shop at Sacs 5th Avenue,is a racist ignorant bigot. Loves wars, Has witch doctor friends and loves to slaughter innocent animals. Some God you got there! You betcha! Wink! Wink!.
Posted by: AJ | November 19, 2008, 2:13 pm 2:13 pm
“The key is you don’t become a convicted felon until AFTER you win the election.”
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Actually you can be elected AFTER you conviction.
Posted by: bugg | November 19, 2008, 4:08 pm 4:08 pm