Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate,
is a giant in Alaska politics. In six terms, he has never won
re-election with less than 66 percent of the vote. But as David
taught Goliath, not even giants are invincible. This time, Stevens
may end up on the wrong end of a landslide.
In a political climate where Senate Republicans are struggling
to hold on to their filibuster
power, Stevens has been locked in a tight race with Democratic
Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich all year. That was before he was
indicted on seven federal counts connected to “hundreds of
thousands of dollars’ worth” of gifts he received from an Alaskan
oil-services corporation he frequently aided on federal issues. The
first poll taken after the indictments showed
Stevens winning just 37 percent of the vote and trailing Begich by
13 points, making this a prime pickup opportunity for the
Democrats.
Unless Republicans retire Stevens themselves in the August 26
primary. Stevens’s main challenger is real estate developer and
former state representative Dave Cuddy, who spent $1 million to
lose the GOP primary to Stevens by over 30 points in 1996. This
time, the conditions are different and Cuddy’s campaign has been
kicked into overdrive by the indictments.
Cuddy says he is ready to take on both Stevens and Begich. “My
message will actually be pretty much the same in both the primary
and the general,” he tells me. “My primary and general election
opponent come from very similar backgrounds — both of them are
very liberal on fiscal and social issues.”
Like his equally troubled House colleague Don Young, Stevens is
a king of pork-barrel politics. Robert Byrd’s longtime Republican
sidekick on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Stevens threatened
to resign from the Senate if Sen. Tom Coburn succeeded in blocking
$453 million earmarked for Alaska’s notorious bridges to nowhere.
His American Conservative Union ratings are middling, he backed the
McCain-Kennedy immigration legislation, and he is a pro-choice
supporter of Roe v. Wade, although he does vote for some
abortion restrictions. Cuddy is running to Stevens’s right on
spending, immigration, and abortion.
But to Cuddy, the primary is mostly about Alaska’s honor and the
Republican brand. “We’re simply spending money that our kids are
going to have to pay back,” he says. “We have to get over this idea
that federal money is free.” Cuddy also argues that when it comes
to earmarks, overspending, and the “culture of corruption,” Stevens
is an example of the trends that cost the Republicans the 2006
elections.
He also differs slightly from the incumbent on another issue
that cost the Republicans seats two years ago. Cuddy opposed the
decision to invade Iraq and insists we cannot be “the world’s
policeman.” “I hold a very high standard of when to put our sons
and daughters in harm’s way,” Cuddy says. “To me, Iraq did not meet
that standard. But once we are there, I do not believe we should
set a timetable for withdrawal. Our troops must withdraw in victory
and with the best possible outcome for Iraqi residents.”
Despite Stevens’s travails, Cuddy is not overconfident. With
other candidates in the race, he doesn’t have a clean shot at the
senator. Another challenger, Vic Vickers, is up on the air with
ads, but he is new to the state while Cuddy’s website blares, “Dave
knows Alaska.” Cuddy admits that the biggest problem is not the
rest of the Republican primary field, but the incumbent’s lingering
popularity.
“This will be a very close race. I’m hearing people say they
will vote for [Stevens] even if he is in jail,” says Cuddy. “I have
a good chance, but they may very well nominate him.” He sounds a
similar note about the November contest with Begich. “Ted Stevens
can’t beat him,” Cuddy argues. “I can’t say I would definitely beat
him, but there is a chance I could. It would be a shame if we let
it go.”
Not only does Cuddy believe a Stevens primary victory would put
the Senate seat unnecessarily at risk, but he also thinks it would
send a bad message to the country about the Republican Party.
“Senator Stevens is the kind of guy who led to the kind of losses
we had in 2006 and expect in 2008,” he says. “And yet has a very
good chance of picking up the nomination.”
“We became the Democrats,” Cuddy continues. “An alcoholic has
got to hit bottom, just become the worst drunk in the gutter, and
we may have to reach that point before we change.” Either way, the
primary results could be a sobering experience for Alaska
Republicans.
