Alaska's Stevens Survives Republican Primary Election (Update3)

By Brian Faler

Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senator Ted Stevens won his Alaska Republican primary race less than a month after his indictment on corruption charges, while Representative Don Young's bid for a 19th term is too close to call.

Young, the state's longest-serving House member in history, led Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell by 145 votes out of more than 93,000 cast in yesterday's election.

Mailed ballots and the results from several precincts around the state haven't yet been counted, a process that may delay establishing a winner until next week, state elections director Gail Fenumiai said in an interview.

Stevens, 84, who was charged last month with failing to report gifts from an oil-services company, received 59,024 votes, or 64 percent, in a seven-way race, with 98 percent of precincts reporting. He predicted he will win the general election in November.

``I expect this campaign to continue to build steam right through the general election,'' said Stevens. ``I'm a Republican and this is a Republican state.''

Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, who won the Democratic primary to oppose Stevens, said in a written statement that Alaska residents want a new direction. Voters will support ``someone with new ideas and a new approach for solving the challenges facing our state,'' Begich said.

Young Confident

Young predicted he would survive his primary challenge.

``I'm confident the final results will give us a primary victory and we can move on to the general election,'' he said in a written statement.

Parnell's campaign didn't immediately respond to a call seeking comment.

Fenumiai said election officials won't meet until Sept 5. to count mailed ballots. She said state law requires those postmarked by Election Day to be tallied if they reach officials within 10 days. Fenumiai also said nine of Alaska's 439 precincts haven't reported their results to the state because of various problems that may be cleared up today. State law provides for an automatic recount only if there is a tie, she said. A defeated candidate may request a recount.

Ethan Berkowitz, a former state House minority leader, won the Democratic nomination for the state's lone House seat.

15 Percent

While just 15 percent of the state's voters are registered Democrats, the ethical cloud over Stevens and other Republican lawmakers in the state gives Democrats hope of winning their first congressional seats there in more than a quarter century. Stevens has held his seat since 1968; Young was first elected in 1973.

A Rasmussen survey conducted after Stevens was indicted found Begich had a 50 percent to 37 percent lead over Stevens.

Stevens was indicted last month on charges of failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts from Veco Corp. and its chief executive officer. Prosecutors said the gifts he received included improvements on a home in Alaska, new vehicles, furniture and a professional Viking gas grill.

Over six years, Veco and Bill Allen, its former chief executive officer, provided free labor and materials to renovate Stevens's house in Girdwood, Alaska, the indictment said. Prosecutors said the project included adding a full basement and a first-floor addition.

Stevens has asked for a quick trial in his case, saying he wants to clear his name before the November election. His trial in Washington is slated to begin Sept. 22. A federal judge rejected his bid to move the case to Alaska.

Prior Convictions

Privately held Veco is now owned by CH2M Hill, a Denver- based global contracting firm. The parent company isn't involved in the investigation.

Three state legislators along with the chief of staff to former Republican Governor Frank Murkowski have been convicted or pleaded guilty in connection with a four-year federal corruption probe. Young has been investigated though not charged.

Separately, the U.S. Congress voted to ask the Justice Department in April to investigate whether Young made a last- minute change to a highway bill, after lawmakers had given it their final approval, to include a $10 million project benefiting a Florida land developer who had donated to his campaign.

`Bridge to Nowhere'

Young and Stevens also backed the so-called ``bridge to nowhere,'' a proposal to spend $223 million to link the Alaskan town of Ketchikan to an island with 50 full-time residents, that became a symbol of wasteful spending.

Parnell seized on the ethics issues surrounding Young, telling Alaska voters in a television ad that ``Washington is broken'' with ``too many scandals.'' He promised a ``return to honesty.'' The Washington-based advocacy group Club for Growth spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to run television ads critical of Young.

Young emphasized his seniority on Capitol Hill, arguing that Parnell wouldn't have the clout to secure money for the state's priorities. Young, the eighth-most senior member of the House, served as chairman of the House Transportation and Natural Resources committees before Democrats won control of Congress last year. He is now the top Republican on the latter panel.

``This is not about Don Young. This is about the job and how it can be done,'' Young said in a campaign ad posted on his Web site. ``Seniority does work and is valuable to the state of Alaska.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Faler in Washington at bfaler@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 27, 2008 15:55 EDT

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