Alaska, U.S. Senate
Race Forecast: Leans Democratic
2008: Sen.
Vote for winner in 2002: 78 percent
Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich was recruited to run against Stevens even before an indictment and guilty verdict damaged the senator ’ s re-election odds. Stevens, 84, who has served in office longer than any GOP senator in history, was found guilty of concealing gifts he received from employees of Veco Corp., an Alaskan oil services company. Stevens has faced generally easy re-election contests throughout more than six terms in office but Begich argues Stevens ’ is no longer effective. The state has historically voted Republican but the state corruption scandal and divisions within Alaska ’ s GOP have weakened the party.
Race Information
- Incumbent: Mark Begich, D
- First Elected: 2008 (1st term)
- Incumbent Status: Running for re-election
- Challengers: Ted Stevens, R; Bob Bird, AKI; Frederick Haase, LIBERT; Ted Gianoutsos, X
- Race Forecast: Leans Democratic
State Information
- U.S. Senate Delegation: 1 Democrat, 2 Republicans
- U.S. House Delegation: 1 Republican
- Alaska's Other Senator
- Sen. Ted Stevens-R
- First Elected: 1970 (6th full term)
- Last Elected: 2002 (78.17%)
- State Offices
- Governor: Gov. Sarah Palin, R
- First Elected: 2006 (1st term)
- State House Control: Republican
- State Senate Control: Republican
- Demographics (2000 census)
- Population (2005):663,661
- Under 18:30.4%
- Over 65:5.7%
- Non-Hispanic White:67.6%
- Black:3.4%
- Hispanic:4.1%
- Asian:3.9%
- American Indian:15.4%
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander:0.5%
- Median Household Income: 51,571
- Median Household Income Rank: 4
| Year | Election | Candidate | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | general | Mark Begich (D) | 151,767 | 47.8% |
| Ted Stevens (R) | 147,814 | 46.5% | ||
| Bob Bird (AKI) | 13,197 | 4.2% | ||
| Frederick Haase (LIBERT) | 2,483 | 0.8% | ||
| Ted Gianoutsos (X) | 1,385 | 0.4% | ||
| 2002 | general | Ted Stevens (R) | 179,438 | 78.2% |
| Frank Vondersaar (D) | 24,133 | 10.5% | ||
| Jim Sykes (GREEN) | 16,608 | 7.2% | ||
| Jim Dore (AKI) | 6,724 | 2.9% | ||
| Leonard Karpinski (LIBERT) | 2,354 | 1% | ||
| 1996 | general | Ted Stevens (R) | 177,893 | 76.7% |
| Jed Whittaker (GREEN) | 29,037 | 12.5% | ||
| Theresa Nangle Obermeyer (D) | 23,977 | 10.3% | ||
| 1990 | general | Ted Stevens (R) | 125,806 | 66.2% |
| Michael Beasley (D) | 61,152 | 32.2% | ||
| 1984 | general | Ted Stevens (R) | 146,919 | 71.2% |
| John E. Havelock (D) | 58,804 | 28.5% | ||
| 1978 | general | Ted Stevens (R) | 92,783 | 76% |
| Donald W. Hobbs (D) | 29,574 | 24% | ||
| 1972 | general | Ted Stevens (R) | 74,216 | 77% |
| 1962 | general | Ted Stevens (R) | 24,354 | 42% |
| Year | Democrat | Republican | Independent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | John Kerry: 36% | George W. Bush: 61% | |
| 2000 | Al Gore: 28% | George W. Bush: 59% | |
| 1996 | Bill Clinton: 33% | Robert Dole: 51% | |
| 1992 | Bill Clinton: 30% | George H. W. Bush: 39% |
Campaign Finance Details for the 2008 Race
| Filers | Through | Total Receipts | Total Disbursements | Total From PACs | Total From Individuals | Ending Cash | Debts Owed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEVENS, THEODORE F (TED) (R) | November 24, 2008 | $3,833,395.00 | $4,006,204.00 | $294,000.00 | $2,543,887.00 | $187,258.00 | $0 |
| MILLICAN, MARC JOSEPH (UNKNOWN) | December 31, 2006 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| MURKOWSKI, LISA (R) | September 30, 2008 | $407,504.00 | $196,941.00 | $1,000.00 | $186,360.00 | $327,352.00 | $0 |
| MURKOWSKI, FRANK SENATOR (R) | September 30, 2008 | $2,120.00 | $4,000.00 | $0 | $0 | $80,169.00 | $0 |
| KNOWLES, TONY (D) | September 30, 2008 | $0 | $6,786.00 | $0 | $0 | $45,797.00 | $0 |
| VONDERSAAR, FRANK J (D) | August 27, 2008 | $1,150.00 | $1,150.00 | $0 | $50.00 | $0 | $0 |
| METCALFE, RAY (D) | October 15, 2008 | $30,309.00 | $30,562.00 | $0 | $30,267.00 | $1,988.00 | $0 |
| SIKMA, RODERIC H "RICK" (R) | September 30, 2008 | $11,696.00 | $11,837.00 | $0 | $4,746.00 | $66.00 | $0 |
| VICKERS, RAYMOND B VIC (R) | September 30, 2008 | $1,038,221.00 | $974,428.00 | $0 | $10,215.00 | $42,792.00 | $1,025,609.00 |
| CUDDY, DAVID W (R) | September 30, 2008 | $1,257,642.00 | $1,260,106.00 | $4,537.00 | $35,261.00 | $0 | $727,481.00 |
| BEGICH, MARK (D) | November 24, 2008 | $4,433,414.00 | $4,172,697.00 | $182,499.00 | $3,534,562.00 | $260,716.00 | $0 |
| CALDERO, ROCKY CHRISTOPHER (D) | September 30, 2008 | $32,004.00 | $23,541.00 | $0 | $31,622.00 | $8,460.00 | $0 |
| BIRD, ROBERT MARIO (I) | November 24, 2008 | $33,788.00 | $31,476.00 | $0 | $32,188.00 | $2,310.00 | $1,500.00 |
