Race Summary

Sen. Ted Stevens has never won re-election with less than 66% of the vote. If he is fortunate enough to win this year, it will likely be with far less than that. The six-term senator, who had been under federal investigation for at least a year, was indicted July 29 on seven felony counts of making false statements on his Senate financial disclosure forms. On Oct. 27, he was convicted on all 7 counts, all but crushing his re-election hopes.

After winning the seven-candidate August 26 primary with 64% of the vote, Stevens faces Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, a candidate Democrats feel is a credible and competent challenger to Stevens's throne. Stevens has been a senator almost as long as Alaska's been a state, and voters love the pork he's brought home -- just see how many structures in the state have his name on them.

National Republicans might have felt better about this race had Stevens declined to run for re-election. Still, Alaska has voted Republican for president in 11 of the 12 years its had a vote, and Democratic statewide candidates regularly begin with an uphill challenge. Stevens' conviction, however, makes this seat all but gone.

Previous Election Results

Senate
2004: L. Murkowski (R) 49, Knowles (D) 46
2002: Stevens (R) 78, Vondersaar (D) 11
1998: F. Murkowski (R) 74, Sonneman (D) 20
1996: Stevens (R) 77, Whittaker (G) 13

President
2004: Bush (R) 61, Kerry (D) 36
2000: Bush (R) 59, Gore (D) 28
1996: Dole (R) 51, Clinton (D) 33

Demographics

Population (2007 est.): 683,478
Registered Voters: Dem 68,170 | Rep 118,267 | Other 292,899
Occupation: Blue Collar 22.4% | White Collar 60.5% | Gray Collar 17.1%
Race: White 67.6% | Native Am. 15.4% | Hispanic 4.1% | Asian 3.9%