Democrats Seek to Exploit Stevens
GOP Senators Insist They've Given to Charity Any Funds From Convicted Alaskan
By JOEL MILLMAN -
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122549837266989867.html?mod=googlenews_wsjPORTLAND, Ore. -- Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens's conviction on corruption charges this week threatens not only his re-election bid but also could hurt other vulnerable Republicans.
For decades, many of Sen. Stevens's GOP colleagues have taken campaign cash from the 84-year-old lawmaker through his flush Northern Lights political action committee.
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, right, answers a question from Democratic challenger Mark Begich during a debate in Anchorage on Thursday. Sen. Stevens has brushed aside calls from Republican leaders to resign after he was found guilty on Monday of seven counts of lying on Senate disclosure forms.
This weekend, Democrats are working hard to remind voters that Sen. Stevens's conviction last Monday on seven counts of failing to disclose more than $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts poses a problem for many Republican incumbents.
On Wednesday, the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released the names of 18 Republicans who took campaign contributions from Sen. Stevens. Most are incumbents running for re-election this year. According to the Democrats, 12 Republican senators, including presidential candidate John McCain, either returned Sen. Stevens's contributions after he was indicted in July, or else gave them to charity.
According to the DSCC, among those who still haven't: Minnesota's Norm Coleman, Oregon's Gordon Smith, New Hampshire's John Sununu, North Carolina's Elizabeth Dole, Georgia's Saxby Chambliss and Kentucky's Mitch McConnell -- all locked in tight races this year.
.................