Alaska’s veteran U.S. senator, Ted Stevens, conceded Wednesday that he had lost the Senate seat he has held for the past 40 years and congratulated Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, the Democrat who will represent the 49th state starting in January.
“Given the number of ballots that remain to be counted, it is apparent the election has been decided, and Mayor Begich has been elected,” Stevens said in a statement, ending the awkward silence that followed Begich’s declaration of victory Tuesday night.
At a news conference in Anchorage Wednesday morning, Begich said he had been congratulated by Alaska’s Republican governor, Sarah Palin, and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, but had not yet heard from Stevens.
Neither, Begich said, had he been called by U.S. Rep. Don Young, the Republican who has been caught up in the same ethics inquiry that led to Stevens’ conviction last month on federal charges of failing to report more than $250,000 in remodeling and other gifts. Young has not been charged.
Stevens had stubbornly sought to hold on to the seat to which he was initially appointed in 1968, and flew back to his home state for a week of furious campaigning after the guilty verdict by a jury in Washington.
Initial tallies showed him in the lead, but tallies of absentee and early-voting ballots after the Nov. 4 vote slowly tilted the election Begich’s way.
“My family and I wish to thank the thousands of Alaskans who stood by us and who supported my re-election,” Stevens said.
Begich said he was not surprised that a large number of Alaskans voted for Stevens despite his felony conviction.
“Ted Stevens had 40 years of service to this state. There was a lot of history and a lot of memories of what he had done,” he said, noting, however, that Stevens’ historic victory margins of 75 percent to 80 percent had become a thing of the past.
“It’s history,” he said, “and now we’re moving on to the future.”
