Stevens Falls Behind in Alaska Senate Race - Rassmussen Poll - October 29, 2008

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, who was convicted of seven felony counts (arising out of his acceptance of $250,000 in unreported gifts) in his federal corruption trial just this Monday, now trails in his reelection campaign behind the Democratic candidate, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. According to the Rassmussen Reports polling release today, Begich now leads Stevens by eight percentage points, 52% to 44%, with 3% supporting the Alaska Independence Party candidate, Bob Bird, and 2% undecided.

While a majority of Republicans in the survey say they still plan to vote for Stevens, some 21% plan to vote for Democrat Begich.

A majority of Alaskans say that Stevens should resign his seat in the U.S. Senate. Numerous Republican leaders, including John McCain and Sarah Palin (who was formerly a major supporter of Stevens) have called on Sen. Stevens to "do the right thing" and resign. However, the Alaska Republican Party continues to support Stevens reelection, hoping, should Stevens later resign, to have the seat filled by a Republican.

According to the Rassmussen survey:

Stevens is now viewed favorably by 43% of Alaska voters, down from 54% before the trial began. Still, even after the guilty verdict, 52% of voters say Stevens is about as ethical as most politicians. Fifteen percent (15%) say Stevens is more ethical than most of his peers while 31% say he is less ethical. These reactions say as much about perceptions of politicians as they do about Stevens.

Before the trial, the race between Senator Stevens and Mayor Begich had been rated a toss-up. Begich took a slight lead in some polls during trial, but the lead was generally within the margin of error.

Some had speculated that Alaskans would rebel against the determination of a Washington, D.C. jury regarding their senator; this polling suggests that most Alaskans have not embraced that attitude.

Rasmusen further reports regarding this and other senate races that:

McCain continues to hold a strong lead over Barack Obama in Alaska’s presidential race. The latest poll will be released today at 5 p.m.

Rasmussen Markets data currently gives Stevens a 7.5 % chance of retaining his seat in the Senate. Numbers in this paragraph are from a prediction market, not a poll.

Stevens is far from the only Republican senator in trouble, and Democrats are likely to pick up several Senate seats next Tuesday. Other Republican seats are at risk in Virginia, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Colorado, New Mexico, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Oregon.

See results from recent polling on Senate races.

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Related post:Sen. Ted Stevens, (R-AL) Indicted on Seven Counts

(Photo via Wikipedia.)

(Correction made 2:07 p.m.: Begich percentage in poll corrected to read 52% rather than 53%.)