Stevens Defiant

So far at least, Ted Stevens, the Republican senator from Alaska who was convicted in federal court yesterday, has not withdrawn his reelection bid.

Apparently, despite his being a convicted felon, the only legal channel by which he can be forced out is the Senate expulsion process. That would take some time, and presumably could not begin right now, with the Senate out of session at least until after the election.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, got no more specific than saying Stevens should "do the right thing".

I'm sure that McCain, Palin, and Stevens's fellow Senate Republicans would all be very happy to see him withdraw.

Some Senate campaign funds come from committees controlled by each party's senators, and those could be withdrawn. But I'm guessing that's not a significant factor for the Stevens campaign. A lack of money coming his way is the exact opposite of his problem.

There have been a handful of cases in recent years when, during the general election campaign, U.S. Senate candidates have either died or withdrawn from the campaign due to scandal. I already mentioned the strange precedent of the 1990 Minnesota gubernatorial election here. The Senate examples include:

Missouri, 2000. Gov. Mel Carnahan, the Democratic nominee to oppose John Ashcroft's Senate reelection bid, died in a plane crash on October 17, 2000, three weeks before the general election. Missouri law would not allow the Democratic Party to substitute another candidate on the ballot. Mel Carnahan won the general election, despite being dead. The Senate seat was deemed to be vacant, and Roger Wilson who, as lieutenant governor, succeeded Mel Carnahan as governor, appointed the late governor's widow, Jean Carnahan, to the vacant Senate seat. Ashcroft's consolation prize, of course, was being appointed federal attorney general by George W. Bush.

2002, New Jersey. Democratic Senator Robert Toricelli withdrew from his reelection campaign on September 30, 2002, due to a scandal involving illegal campaign contributions. Frank Lautenberg, who had retired from the U.S. Senate in 2001, agreed to come out of retirement and replace Toricelli on the ballot. It was not clear that the law allowed for such a switch at that point in a campaign, but federal courts declined to intervene. Lautenberg won, and decided he liked being back in the Senate so much that, this year, he decided to seek yet another term, at the age of 84.

2002, Minnesota. Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone, while in the middle of a reelection campaign against Republican Norm Coleman, died in a plane crash on October 25, 2002, 11 days before the general election. Subsequent to the 1990 gubernatorial election that I referred to above, Minnesota law regarding such situations had been clarified. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party was able to put a replacement candidate on the ballot, who was former Vice President Walter Mondale. Coleman acquired a reputation as a giant-killer by defeating Mondale. Raucous behavior by Wellstone supporters at a large public memorial service for the late senator at a Minneapolis basketball arena, was blamed in part for the DFL defeat.

Stevens's conviction has occurred closer to election day than any of the comparable events described above. And Alaska election law apparently prevents a party from placing a substitute candidate on the ballot less than 48 days before the election.

Even if Stevens were to change his mind and withdraw, the best that Alaska Republicans could do would be an organized write-in campaign for another Republican candidate.

Stevens seems to be hoping to strike a chord with Alaska voters to support one of their own against the bad guys in far-off Washington. Seems unlikely.

UPDATE: In a later statement, Palin directly called on Stevens to resign. McCain did likewise.