Begich announces run against Sen. Stevens

National Democrats have their man against Sen. Ted Stevens, and he appears set to give the party its first real shot at the senator in his 40-year career.

Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich announced Wednesday that he is entering the race against Stevens (R-Alaska), setting up an exploratory committee and ending months of speculation about whether Democrats could field a formidable candidate against the embattled lawmaker.

{mosads}A federal investigation into Stevens’s ties to the Veco Corp. pushed the seat into the realm of possibility for Democrats. Begich’s entry makes it an official race.

In launching his committee, Begich said in an e-mail to supporters that the exploratory committee is a significant step forward that he doesn't take lightly.

“This exploratory committee gives me the opportunity to talk with Alaskans within the provisions of federal election laws,” he said. “After hearing from Alaskans across the state, I will make a final decision on becoming an official candidate well before the June 1 filing deadline.”

A competitive race in Alaska would add another to the growing list of takeover opportunities in unexpected places for national Democrats.

The recent entry of other top recruits in open-seat races in Mississippi and Nebraska could also expand the field for a party that seems to have nearly everything working in its favor so far this cycle, including the electoral map, money and GOP retirements.

Begich’s announcement, which comes just six days after Stevens filed to run for a seventh full term, helps put to rest questions about whether the 84-year-old would retire amid his legal problems.

Authorities are investigating a remodeling job done on Stevens’s home by Veco Corp., whose former executive has confessed to bribing Stevens’s son, former state Sen. Ben Stevens. The elder Stevens’s home was raided last summer, and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) is also being targeted in the probe.

Stevens told the Anchorage Daily News upon filing last week that this “is going to be a really strong race” and that lots of bloggers and Senate colleagues would be gunning for him.

The senator and World War II veteran won 60 percent of the vote in his first race in 1970 and has never taken less than 66 percent since then.

Stevens’s office didn't respond to request for comment.