Alaska Senate Race Now In Play

Even though Democrats thought they had an outside chance of winning the senate race in Alaska this year, most pundits thought it was just wishful thinking. Ted Stevens has held that seat since 1968 and it looked like he would win it again. After all, he's brought a ton of "pork" home to Alaska.

But yesterday, all that changed. Senator Stevens was indicted by a federal grand jury on corruption charges. He has been charged with seven counts of making false statements on his financial disclosure forms. He failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from Veco and it's CEO Bill Allen. Allen pled guilty in May 2007 to making "corrupt payments" to Alaskan officials.

Now there is some doubt as to whether Stevens can even win the Alaskan primary next month. If he does, he will enter the November elections with the charges hanging over his head. If not, then there will be no incumbent in the election.

This is all very good for the Democrats, especially since their candidate is a pretty popular politician -- Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage. With all their ethical lapses, the Republicans just keep trying to make it easier for Democrats this year.