Sen. Stevens Fights OnThough the race is still too close to be called, Sen. Ted Stevens’ slim lead over his Democratic contender, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, has many wondering what exactly would happen if the convicted felon (and perhaps seven term senator) succeeded in his bid for re-election.
Assuming he wins re-election, Stevens with have a two-front battle to wage: one with his colleagues in the Senate, and the second with an appellate court.
Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has already said that “a convicted felon is not going to be able to serve in the United States Senate” shortly after the Alaska Republican’s conviction. He has promised that Stevens will face an ethics committee investigation and expulsion, regardless of his appeals process. With Democrats holding a strong majority and many Republicans — from John McCain to Mitch McConnell — calling for his resignation, it’s unlikely that Stevens would last long after a January swearing in.
So what will happen to Alaska’s second senate seat if Stevens is sent back to the wilderness of AK? ProPublica has your answer:
So what happens if the Senate gives Stevens the boot? Under Alaska state law, the current governor–perhaps you remember her–would appoint a temporary replacement. Then a special election would be held to choose a senator to serve out the remainder of Stevens’ six-year term. With no primary election in the near future, a special election would need to be held within 90 days of Stevens leaving office.
Could Stevens actually run again via the special election? After all, Alaska’s voters and Senate leaders could theoretically end up playing a game of ping-pong–where Alaska votes him in, the Senate expels him and then Alaska votes him back in. We’re looking into it.
ProPublica consulted an Alaska law expert in a later article and discovered that it wasn’t quite that simple (is it ever?) — in 2004, Alaska voters approved an initiative that stripped the governor from the power to appoint a replacement to the U.S. Senate, and which conflicts with current state law. It looks like it’ll come down to the Alaska Supreme Court — with nothing even starting to be resolved until the legislature meets in January.
After covering Alaska for the last five months — and staying up until 4 a.m. refreshing State Election Board results — I would have to say you shouldn’t put anything past Alaska.
As for Stevens’ appeal, it hasn’t been filed yet, but we can already hypothesize what it will entail: prosecutorial misconduct and perhaps grounds related to the jury.
