Anchorage Daily News: Anchorage Mayor Begish takes step toward Senate campaign by Sean Cockerham

Anchorage Daily News: Anchorage Mayor Begish takes step toward Senate campaign by Sean Cockerham

Begich takes step toward Senate campaign

By SEAN COCKERHAM Anchorage Daily News (02/27/08 11:20:34)

Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, sounding very much like a candidate, is forming an exploratory committee and will test how much support exists for him to challenge Ted Stevens for the U.S. Senate.

"Over the next few months I'll visit communities all across this state and ask them do they think it's time for change in Washington, D.C.," Begich said.

Begich, a 45-year-old Democrat, announced the committee Wednesday at a press conference in his East Anchorage home.

Begich said he would make a final decision on whether to run well before the June 1 filing deadline. He said the exploratory committee would allow him to raise funds from donors to travel and hear what Alaskans think about the issues.

"Taking this step allows me to talk and listen to Alaskans about whether the Senate is the best place for me to work for change for Alaska's future," he said. "And, more importantly, to listen to their challenges, their needs, their hopes, and their dreams for our great state."

Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in U.S. Senate history, released a statement saying Alaska needs a senator with clout and experience. Stevens said Begich told him that he was exploring a run.

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Stevens was appointed in 1968 and has been re-elected seven times since. He's never had a close re-election campaign and often has faced minimal opposition.

The 84-year-old Stevens…

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"Anyone who enters this race thinking they are entering it because of issues with Sen. Stevens, they are entering it for the wrong reasons," Begich said.

Stevens is under federal investigation as part of the broad inquiry by the U.S. Justice Department and FBI into Alaska political corruption but has not been charged. Investigators are looking into his relationship with Veco, the now-defunct Alaska oil field services and construction company, including the company's involvement in the remodeling of Stevens' Girdwood home.

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Read the entire article here: Begich takes step toward Senate campaign

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/328059.html

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