Begich may win after all

The election for president is over, but the election between Alaska's two candidates for senator is not.  The election ended with Sen. Stevens holding a lead of 3,200 votes over Begich, but that might change.  A report published by fivethirtyeight.com analyzes the possibilities.

"The reasoning behind this is simple: some early ballots have been processed, and among those ballots Begich substantially leads Stevens. A tally of Alaska's 40 house districts as taken from Alaska's Division of Elections webpage suggests that Begich has won about 61% of the early ballots counted so far, as compared with 48% of ballots cast on Election Day itself."

There is no word on when the official results may be given.  Whatever the result, the outcome will be close.

What happened in Alaska...

Alaska voted for Sen. McCain for president of the U.S.  Alaska's 3 electoral votes, however, could not assist McCain's bid for the white house.  

Sen. Stevens and contender Begich are still in a heated battle.  Stevens leads Begich by a slim margin with 99 percent of the vote tallied so far.  About 4000 votes separated the two candidates and the race might not  be decided for another 2 weeks.  If the lead holds up, Stevens will be the first candidate for senate to win an election after being convicted in a court of law.

A Resolution of Troopergate

Gov. Palin has been cleared of any possible ethics violations she faced in the Troopergate saga.  The report, issued the day before polls opened to voters, stated that Gov. Palin legally fired Monegan.

"Petumenos concluded that the Legislature's special counsel, former state prosecutor Steve Branchflower, used the wrong state law as the basis for his conclusions and also misconstrued the evidence.

"(Branchflower) assumed that the governor knew about things and should have stopped them, when the evidence we induced is that she didn't know about them in the first place," Petumenos said at a Monday afternoon press conference."

In Alaska, this matter does not carry much weight as many voters going to the polls today are sided with John McCain.  In other states however, this might give voters an amount of assurance that who they're voting for is a credible politician.

One Final Day, One Final Push!

The general presidential election results for Alaskans has been crystalized a long time ago.  Sen. McCain is expected to win in the state from whence Gov. Palin came from.  The polls show Sen. McCain has a sizeable lead over his rival Sen. Obama with a 57-40% margin.

What is unclear however, is the race for Senate.  Though Sen. Stevens has been convicted in a court of law for illegally accepting bribes, he is still in the race and still insistent about his innocence saying that he has not been convicted until the appeals court rules against him.  This has caused long lines at the early voting centers.

"With long lines forming for early voting at regional election centers, Alaskans are already deciding whether to return 40-year veteran Stevens and 36-year veteran Young, or send Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich or former state House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz in their place.

If voters throw out the old for the new, neither Democrat would have the clout that seniority carries, particularly in the Senate. They would have the advantage of belonging to what is likely to remain for now the majority party in both bodies."

"Stevens and Young are masters at the game of bringing home federal dollars, which account for a third of the state's economic base. Without the veteran lawmakers, Haycox said the state would likely see a drop off in transportation funds and earmarks -- the controversial provisions added to legislation that directs money to a particular organization or project in a politician's home state.

But both Stevens and Young also are weighed down by a continuing federal corruption probe that has reached deep into Alaska's political structure. Juneau economist George Rogers, who was a consultant to the 1955 Alaska Constitutional Convention, said the election is momentous because the federal corruption inquiry has exposed a need for fundamental change. He said too many political leaders have strayed from the ideals that launched the young state, allowing greed and partisan politics to prevail instead."

Whoever wins the race for Senate, the ramifications of such a win will be enormous.  Alaskans have a voice with their vote and will send someone packing for good.  My best guesstimation is that Sen. Stevens will be sent packing.

Sen. Ted Stevens Imbroglio

Gov. Palin has joined the ranks of others calling for Sen. Stevens to resign his position.  Stevens was convicted of seven felony counts and still insists on continuing his bid for re-election.  Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voiced his opinion about Sen. Stevens' bid for Senate. 

"'If he is re-elected and the felony charge stands through the appeals process, there is zero chance that a senator with a felony conviction would not be expelled from the Senate,' McConnell said while campaigning in Kentucky."

Alaska Daily News endorses Barack Obama!

Alaska Daily News has published an endorsement of Barack Obama for President.  Despite having their governor, Sarah Palin, in as the vice presidential nominee running with McCain, ADN has decided to endorse their adversary, Obama, because of his "eratic" behavior concerning the economy.  The paper makes the argument that McCain is equivocal to Bush, an argument Obama has been making for quite a while.

Sen. McCain describes himself as a maverick, by which he seems to mean that he spent 25 years trying unsuccessfully to persuade his own party to follow his bipartisan, centrist lead. Sadly, maverick John McCain didn't show up for the campaign. Instead we have candidate McCain, who embraces the extreme Republican orthodoxy he once resisted and cynically asks Americans to buy for another four years.

When talking about their governor Sarah Palin, the newspaper had this to say.

Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.

ADN has gone out on a limb in this clearly red state and the implications of its endorsement may not be so dramatic.  Voter turnout and the appeal of the Republican Party still strongly favors Sen. McCain.

Ten Days until election day!

McCain enjoys a favorable lead over Obama and the Palin red state will not change its colors to match Palin's new wardrobe, no matter what!  Despite the negativity that has been prevalent in the lower 48 about McCain, Alaska is immune to it all.

The Senate race in Alaska is notably close with embattled Senator Stevens, (who is on trial for abuses of his office by accepting gifts he's termed as loans), trailing by 1% to his Democratic rival Begich.