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Alaska’s Stevens loses Senate seat to Democrat rival

Senator Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in Senate history, narrowly lost his re-election bid, marking the downfall of a Washington political power and Alaska icon who could not survive a conviction on federal corruption charges.

Stevens’ defeat to Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich moves Senate Democrats within two seats of the 60-vote majority needed to overcome filibusters — a tactic used by the Senate minority to block legislation from coming to a vote.

Stevens’ ouster on his 85th birthday marks an abrupt realignment in Alaska politics and will alter the power structure in the Senate, where he has served since the days of President Lyndon Johnson’s administration while holding seats on some of the most influential committees in Congress. Begich will be the first Democrat to represent Alaska in the Senate in nearly 30 years.

Stevens occupies an outsized place in Alaska history. His involvement in politics dates to the days before Alaska statehood, and he is esteemed for his ability to secure billions of dollars in federal aid for transportation and military projects. The Anchorage airport bears his name; in Alaska, it’s simply “Uncle Ted.”

Tuesday’s tally of just over 24,000 absentee and other ballots gave Begich 150,728, or 47.76 percent, to 147,004, or 46.58 percent, for Stevens. There are about 2,500 overseas ballots yet to be counted.

A recount is possible. If the vote differential between the two candidates is more than 0.5 percent, either side can seek a recount if it posts a bond of about US$15,000 to pay for a new tally.

Begich said the defining issue in the race was the desire for a new direction in Washington, not Stevens’ legal problems.

Alaska voters “wanted to see change,” he told reporters in Anchorage.

“Alaska has been in the midst of a generational shift — you could see it,” he said.

Stevens’ loss was another slap for Republicans in a year that has seen the party lose control of the White House, as well as seats in the House and Senate. It also moves Democrats one step closer to the 60 votes needed to overcome filibusters in the Senate and gives president-elect Barack Obama a stronger hand when he assumes office on Jan. 20.

With Begich’s victory, Democrats now hold 58 seats, when two independents who align with Democrats are included, with undecided races in Minnesota and Georgia where two Republicans are trying to hang onto their seats.

Democrats have now picked up seven Senate seats in the Nov. 4 election.

Last month just days before the election, Stevens was convicted by a federal jury in Washington of lying on Senate disclosure forms to conceal more than US$250,000 in gifts and home renovations from an oil field services company.
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