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BAD FOR STEVENS, BAD FOR DEMS?
Ted Stevens' indictment is certainly good news for those of us who love honest government. Isaac Chotiner thinks this is bad for the GOP, and it does tarnish their national brand even more. However, it may be problematic for the Democratic Party, as well.
Alaska represented a critical opportunity to switch a Senate seat and increase the Democratic majority in the upper house. But now that Stevens has been indicted, he may not make it into the general election, either because he drops out of the race/is forced out by the party, or because he loses Alaska's Republican primary election at the end of August to back-bench GOP candidate Dave Cuddy. On the Democratic side, Mark Begich, the popular Mayor of Anchorage, is running a strong campaign and could still win a race against Cuddy. But given the GOP tilt of Alaskan politics, Begich would much rather run against Stevens and his corruption baggage than a reform-minded Republican. The scenario is similar to the 2006 results in California's 51st District, where ubercorrupt Rep. Duke Cunningham dropped out, allowing former GOP Rep. Brian Bilbray beat out the Democratic challenger. It will be interesting to track the public statements of Stevens and the rest of this group in the coming weeks.
Update: Vic Vickers has jumped in the race for the GOP nomination. While having lots of money and an anti-corruption message could help him, just moving back to the state recently and being somewhat nuts could hurt. Does it split the primary ticket and let Ted Stevens win the nomination (assuming he doesn't step down)? I doubt it, but it's too soon to tell.
--Tim Fernholz
COMMENTS (4)
Ted Stevens' indictment is certainly good news for those of us who love honest government.
This guy needs to go and I believe the GOP will ask him to resign.
Democrats seem to forget William Jefferson who has been indicted on federal bribery charges...caught red-handed with marked money in his freezer and yet, the Dems are silent about him.
Wha's with that?
Posted by: Anonymous | July 29, 2008 2:58 PM
Hey Anon, Jefferson got stripped of his big committee assignments by the Speaker, and the netroots supported his Dem opponent in '06 but lost out in the end. Are we supposed to rail against him daily, when there's no recent news on the subject?
It really wouldn't surprise me if Stevens refuses to resign, just like Jefferson has. He is one stubborn dude. I can just see it now. Party asks him to resign, and his response: "NO!!!!!!"
Posted by: Chris O. | July 29, 2008 3:02 PM
Begich seems to be personally popular--Stevens could probably have beaten Generic Dem without indictment hanging over his head--so I'm thinking he'll probably win comfortably even now. Heck, especially now. When you get a nomination because your predecessor has been indicted and every other prominent member of your state party is embroiled in scandal, I'm not putting too much stock in your chances.
Posted by: Mike B. | July 29, 2008 3:16 PM
On a meta note, TAPPED is so far in the tank for BHO that even an obsequious hack like Paul Waldman is probably ashamed to be seen here. So, when I see TAPPED pretend that they care about "honest government" I have to laugh considering all the lies BHO has told.
Posted by: TLB | July 29, 2008 10:50 PM