As we update the directory, two races stood out.
If the 2008 congressional elections demonstrated anything, it’s that bribery does not pay. Former members of both parties, in both chambers, relearned the lesson the hard way, in close elections. While voters held each one responsible, neither took responsibility for their misdeeds.
Democrat Mark Begich defeated Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) in an election that reflected the strong pull of incumbency. Stevens served in the U.S. Senate since 1968 and was responsible for several key pieces of legislation, which helped develop the modern state of Alaska. He has friends on both sides of the aisle and was a prominent member of the Appropriations Committee, which fed the economy of his home state.
Stevens’ indictment by a federal grand jury for the failure to report gifts from the VECO Corporation elevated his reelection to a targeted race and Begich received every advantage a challenger could get from his party and the media. Voters began to see Stevens not as an unapologetic supporter of Alaska but as a pork-barrel insider who was also bring some home for himself. Once convicted, Stevens still wouldn’t leave so the voters showed him the door.
Republican Anh “Joseph” Cao was an odd fit for a district, which was drawn to give Democrats and African-Americans a safe seat in the House of Representatives. Cao is unapologetically pro-life and only marginally a Republican as he ran for other races as an independent. Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA-05), an African-American, served since 1991, and has deep roots in his district.
Unlike Stevens, it took two tries to rid the Louisiana Fifth District of Jefferson. In July 2005, Jefferson was videotaped receiving $100,000 in a scandal that got stranger in August when FBI agents found $90,000 in cash in his freezer at home. The iGate scandal led to Jefferson being stripped of his committee assignments in 2006 by a vote of the Democratic conference. Due to Katrina and weak opponents, Jefferson was reelected. This year, another Gustav pushed back elections to December 6 and provided the district an opportunity to elect Cao.
Both Stevens and Jefferson lost within only a few points despite their scandals. The power of incumbents – name identification, fund-raising, and pork – almost saved both of them. The good sense of the voters of Alaska and Louisiana 5 made sure they went home powerless. Good for them.
