Ted Stevens

On October 16, 2008, Alaska Senator Ted Stevens testified as follows in his corruption trial.

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens testified at his trial on charges of hiding more than $250,000 in gifts that he never intended to lie on his Senate financial disclosure forms and thought they were accurate.

Immediately after taking the witness stand today, Stevens answered, ``Yes, sir,'' when asked by defense lawyer Brendan Sullivan whether he believed the Senate forms at the heart of the case were correct when he signed them.

Asked if he ever intended to file a false statement, the senator said, ``No I did not.''

You see, the Senator was charged with submitting false statements on his U.S. Senate disclosure forms.

Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd is required to submit the same financial disclosure forms. And in a stunning reversal, late Friday he admitted to the Connecticut press that his Irish vacation estate was worth three times what he had been telling the U.S. Senate.

A new appraisal of the Irish cottage owned by Sen. Christopher Dodd concludes that it is worth about three times as much as Dodd has been reporting on his financial disclosure forms.The new value of the cottage, on Inishnee island in County Galway, is $658,000, according to Dodd's 2008 financial disclosure form released Friday.The two-page appraisal was done by the same man who did the original one in 2002 when the 1,200-square-foot cottage was valued at about $190,000.The new appraisal comes two years into a historic crash in property values in Ireland, which suggests that it might have been worth even more in recent years when Dodd never reported its value at more than $250,000 in annual Senate financial disclosures. 

Every year Dodd submitted a financial disclosure form to the Senate. And every year he submitted a demonstrably false statement as to the value of his Irish vacation home.  He has yet to produce the alleged 2002 appraisal setting the value at a risibly inadequate number.

I'm not going to think people like me got Dodd off the dime.  And even the scandal about how Dodd obtained and financed this house might not have caused the belated disclosure.  No, what prompted this is to pay the nation's bills the Irish Republic is about to reinstitute a tax on residential property, and this appraisal was a pre-emptive strike against the Galway County assessor coming out with an even higher number right before the '10 election.

But, my question is this: How many times did Chris Dodd submit materially false information on his finances similar to the false information submitted by Ted Stevens?

Chris Dodd pretends he was unaware of the Irish property boom. And he claims to be an expert on global finance. Doesn't pass the smell test, Chris.  He knew these numbers were wrong and submitted them anyway.

I doubt the Eric Holder Justice Department is going to rattle the cage of the President's point man on nationalization of banks, car companies and health care. (Why not?....politicised justice?) It would be fun to hear not old stories of Daddy at Nuremberg, but hearing this guy use the "Ted Stevens defense" on the stand. 

He didn't mean to lie on the form. It just turned out that way. 

A lot of people wonder who the next leaders of the Republican Party should be.  I don't know.  But you know who it shouldn't be?   Anybody who thinks the current elected Senator from Alaska should resign so that the corrupt former Senator Ted Stevens can be brought back to the Senate.

Forewarned is forearmed.

As is readily apparent, many so-called "conservative" pundits like George Will http://www.thenextright.com/ironman/george-will-empty-suit-behind-the-bow-tie. Peggy Noonan http://www.peggynoonan.com/article.php?article=438 and David Brooks http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_10830202 decided that rather than offer even tepid support to the McCain-Palin ticket, it would be way more fun to fire off a weekly columm attacking them and their campaign as incompetent.

Now John McCain and Sarah Palin are a big boy and a big girl and probably couldn;t give a rat's tukkus that some writers dissed them. And they can look to the political environment and their own campaigns to explain a 6 point loss.  Friendly fire didn't cost them that many votes.

But the elite pundits ought now to consider that while fragging Mac and Sarah for their alleged deficiencies, they inflicted a lot of collateral damage on the rest of the Republican party. Let's assume that some moderately substantial number of right-of-center voters were sufficiently moved by the media blitz of disgrunted conservative writers to stay home.

Well, George, Peggy & David, Senator Merkley sends his regards  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/11/06/2008-11-06_oregon_race_for_us_senate_called_for_jef.html

Congressman Kratovil also says thanks http://wjz.com/local/andy.harris.frank.2.861518.html

Congressman Perriero also will probably say thanks too  http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-11-07-0207.html

and we're still waiting to see if Senator Begich http://www.aksuperstation.com/news/local/34276439.html, Senator Franken http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/11/10/Franken_within_204_votes_of_Coleman/UPI-19251226343255/, Senator Martin  http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2008/11/11/senate_chambliss_martin.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 or Congressman Brown http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/1383995.html will also be sending warm regards

You see, when you decide to go shiv the top of the ticket, the entire party suffers when voters decide not to bother to vote.  And did it go unnoticed that Republican turnout was down this year.  http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/11/07/republican_turnout_declined.html

Notice how few liberals before the election---even those who were die-hard Hillary people---publicly dissed Barack Obama. That's because. hey ---they actually think winning elections sorta matters.

And it matters a whole lot for people out there in Senate and Congressional races downballot. I'm not sure what any of these people (save Ted Stevens) did to deserve this, but as I pointed out, fragmentation grenades are rather inexact weapons.

At some point a bill will pass that will be horrendously repugnant to any thoughtful Republican. It will pass by one vote---because one of these people wasn't there to stop it.

I look forward to the very erudite apology from the salon set "conservatives" then--hardly--they'll still be blaming the Republican rank and file as if we are the problem.   

Watching the GOP's fortunes in 2008 is a lot like watching a professional wrestler getting thoroughly beaten down, yet every time he face plants on the canvas, he slowly crawls up to his knees and looks poised to get up and perhaps storm back for an ugly, late win in the match.

Unfortunately for the right this year, every time the GOP lifts itself up and starts crawling, something else comes swooping in and delivering a swift kick to the ribs, causing us to crash back down, even more defeated than before. The insanity about this phenomenon, however, is that the people delivering those swift kicks to the ribs which wound us more and more, tend to be republicans themselves.

It is a sad commentary that "winning" this year would be denying the democrats a supermajority in Congress, but that is about what it has come to.  But now, because one one man, even that "victory" will be twice as hard.

Ted Stevens has screwed us twice, providing multiple humiliating cracks to our proverbial ribs.

The first way he has undone the right is obvious - he has betrayed the spirit of what it is to be a republican and has slavishly fallen in love with spending, pork and corruption. In the best Alaska tradition, Stevens has become the embodiment of what a republican traditionally would evicerate - but since he calls himself one that becomes tricky. But besides his revolting failures, he is now officially a criminal, and has brought about as much bad press our way as possible.

This has of course put his senate seat in jeopardy of falling to the democrats, placing them one stop closer to a supermajority. Given that (according to polling) they are on the precipice of achivieving this goal, this is all the more shameful.

But, being a corrupt, government loving monster who has defamed our party and put his seat in peril is only his first sin. The second one is even more egregious.

Once it became apparent that Stevens was no longer viable - that he was convicted and corrupt - he had one last opportunity to redeem himself, at least partially, and allow the republican party an honest chance to stop the bleeding.

He needed to come out with a commercial, paid for by all his remaining campaign funds, that had him address Alaskans, saying something to the effect of this:

My fellow Alaskans. I stand before you today to humbly appeal to you - not for myself, but for Alaska.

It is clear now that I can not continue to serve in the US Senate. I maintain my innocence, and intend to prove myself in the court of appeals, but no matter how strongly I feel about this, there is no way I can viably serve in Washington any longer.

Unfortunately, I am not able to be removed from the ballot for the upcoming election here in Alaska, so I can not give one of the other fine candidates in this state an opportunity to run on the republican ticket.

And so I appeal to you thusly - vote for me. Do not vote for me because you want to see me return to the Senate. If elected, I will immediately resign from the Senate at the beginning of the new session, allowing a special election to take place in Alaska - giving the voters of my beloved state an actual choice in this race.

This I give to you as my final pledge, as I appeal to your sense of fairness and your desire to see that good government be undertaken by your Senator in Washington. Please help me give the people of our state a real choice - do not let my unfortunate actions leave you with only one realistic person to vote for.

So, vote for a real choice. Vote for a second chance at a real election. Vote for what my election would represent - a chance to start over, to start clean, and to actually choose the best candidate for you early next year.

I apologize to you, the people of Alaska for being the center of this trouble - I only hope that this can at least begin to set right what has gone so horribly wrong this year.

Thank you, and good night.

Saturate this on the airwaves day and night constantly, do news interviews begging the citizens of Alaska to give themselves an opportunity to choose between two people by doing this, instead of choosing between only one. Make it a movement that appeals to people's desire to have options. These are the things he needed to do, given the damage he has un-necessarily caused.

But instead, he has sunk down into his bunker, insisting that he is innocent and that he will not only not resign, but that he will continue to run - under some deluded impression that he has any credibility or chance of winning left.

So, thank you, Senator Stevens for not only screwing us the first time, thank you for screwing us a second time by your refusal to do what is right (as cliche as that sounds) and bowing out as gracefully as is possible in this situation, by appealing to the voters to allow themselves the right to choose.

What is the relationship between these two stories from the Hill? Ted Stevens getting convicted of all counts for, in essence, corruption:

Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Senate Republican in history and patriarch of Alaska politics, was found guilty of all seven felony charges for making false statements.

John Ensign trying to blame John McCain for a disastrous Senate Republican showing:

Nevada Sen. John Ensign, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, on Monday said John McCain’s presidential run is making Senate races “more difficult” for the GOP.

They reflect a delusionally out-of-touch Senate establishment. On the same day that Ensign's colleague starts the march off to prison, he is blaming the guy who tried to clean up his own party. Could this be more out of touch?

By the way.  What is the job of the NRSC? Torecruit candidates and raise money. We are mostly playing defense. John Kennedy was a good recruit, but we don't have anyone in Arkansas. But how did they do on fundraising? Not so hot: "DSCC doubles NRSC funddraisng ... Again." Or "DSCC crushes NRSC in fundraising."

How about the fact that Congressional Republicans just aren't that popular ... because we haven't changed our ways? The numbers demonstrate abject failure. After all, we have 27% approval, while the Dems have 34%. Oh yeah. And Bush is in the single digits, along with right-track/wrong-track. And we've had 9 straight months of job loss.

Maybe the problem is us. The lesson of this election for Republicans cannot be about John McCain, although he has his faults. It has to be about the establishment and us. Our leaders have lead us astray. It is probably time to find new leaders. Rank and file Republicans get that. That's why the last two guys standing were the farthest from the establishment: John McCain and Mike Huckabee.

Until the establishment in Congress and party accept that they are part of the problem, we are just going to continue to lose more seats and continue to destroy our party and our movement. McCain isn't doing that.

Note: in the first version, I said "indicted" not "convicted" because I desperately need an editor.

CNN is announcing that Sen. Ted Stevens has been found guilty on all counts. The Politico has the story.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was convicted today on seven counts of failing to report more than $250,000 in improper gifts he received from 1999 to 2006 ... Stevens, 84, now faces a question over whether he will resign, and if he dogood conscience compels us to advise Alaskans not to vote for Ted Stevens for Senate or Don Young for the at-large House seat in Alaska. We leave it to the individual voter whether to abstain or take the step of voting affirmatively for Mark Begich, the Democrat mayor of Anchorage, and candidate for the U.S. Senate, or for Ethan Berkowitz for the at-large House seat in Alaska.es not, whether he can win reelection Nov. 4 in an already tough race. ... Stevens could also be sentenced to as much as five years in federal prison, although considering his age and lack of previous convictions, is unlikely to receive anywhere near the maximum sentence.

Note that Alaska "state law prohibits parties from naming replacement candidates less than 48 days before the election."  Inexplicably, some Republicans have been arguing that Sen. Stevens could still win.  They should have been discussing how Republicans can be rid of him.   Republicans should not be relying on juries and courts to be the ethics enforcers.

UPDATE

Red State recommends Alaskans do not vote for Ted Stevens or Don Young, saying "Republicans need to clean our own house. Washington cannot too soon see the end of Stevens and Young"...

[G]ood conscience compels us to advise Alaskans not to vote for Ted Stevens for Senate or Don Young for the at-large House seat in Alaska. We leave it to the individual voter whether to abstain or take the step of voting affirmatively for Mark Begich, the Democrat mayor of Anchorage, and candidate for the U.S. Senate, or for Ethan Berkowitz for the at-large House seat in Alaska.

Good for them.

The trial of Sen. Ted Stevens is almost over, with the case now in the hands of the jury. The trial hasn't been free of drama: the prosecution mishandled evidence to the point where the case was almost dismissed, and eleven of the jurors asked the judge to kick off the twelfth for "violent outbursts." Today, the judge replaced one of the jurors whose father passed away with an alternate. With nine days to go until election day, the verdict will with all likelihood be handed down before the weekend.

When the indictment of Stevens came down, my initial reaction was that Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich would be the next United States Senator from the Last Frontier. But after the initial earthquake, the aftershock worked in Stevens' favor. Alaskans learned more details about the indictment, which essentially came down to "purposefully" leaving certain things off of his Senate financial disclosure forms, a charge where the motive is very hard to prove. I was shocked that this is all that the government had on him. It also didn't help that Begich himself essentially committed the same "crime" and "plead guilty" by paying a $1,420 fine to the Alaska Public Offices Commission, the state's financial disclosure watchdog agency. With an initial 13 point deficit immediately after the indictment, undecided Alaskans rallied around Stevens before and during the trial. His campaign rans some very good ads, and he is now anywhere between up 2 point to down 2 points in various polls: for all intents and purposes, a tie.

Bottom line: acquittal for Stevens = big win for Stevens, conviction for Stevens = big win for Begich. I know there are a lot of conservatives who read and write on this blog that aren't fans of Stevens, and I understand. (I've promised some people a piece on why I still support Ted, and that should be coming soon.) But it's been a weird past few months for Alaska from this trial to McCain's selection of Sarah Palin. Let's take a look and the stakeholders affected from the eventual verdict of this trial.

Senate Filibuster

Let's assume that Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders are in the Democratic caucus, and make the count from 51. Shaheen def. Sununu (NH), Warner def. Gilmore (VA), Merkley def. Smith (OR), Udall def. Schaffer (CO), Udall def. Pearce (NM), Franken def. Coleman (MN), Hagan def. Dole (NC), Musgrove def. Wicker (MS), Lunsford def. McConnell (KY), and Martin def. Chambliss (GA). That makes it 61. The likelihood of those last two races (KY and GA) going blue are slim but possible. So let's make it 59.

Political junkies might be staying up through the night to watch Alaska's Senate race, and I doubt that the average juror even knows what a filibuster is.

The Campaign of Mark Begich

The Stevens campaign's strategy is clear if he's acquitted: continue their message of his long list of contributions to the state. On the other hand, Mark Begich has to be the most frustrated Congressional candidate in the country. First, the selection of Gov. Palin to the national ticket is limiting the precious amount of free media he was used to getting as Mayor. Second, without the indictments, Begich was probably the favorite to win the election (but not the clear favorite) because of what the "ethical cloud" over Stevens. With that cloud maybe clearing a few days before the election, Begich faces a big loss if Stevens is cleared of all charges.

Third, and most importantly, any strategy Begich runs is a lose-lose scenario. After the indictments came down, Begich couldn't slap Stevens around because of the overwhelming support Ted got after the indictments. The DSCC took on that role with a series of ads and mailers that have gained no traction whatsoever. Plus, the Alaska Republican Party is running their own offense against Begich, running ads about his own financial problems. Begich also can't just run an "issue-based" campaign as he promised. So just a few days ago, Begich decided to switch gears and start attacking Stevens, which signals that Begich is gambling. Even if Stevens is acquitted, Begich is trying to keep the "cloud" over Stevens. But the fact is that if the acquittal comes, Begich is done.

The AK-AL House Race

It looks as if Don Young is making another comeback. Down double-digits earlier this fall to former State House minority leader, Ethan Berkowitz, the latest polls have him anywhere between 5 to 8 points down. Berkowitz has the same problem as Begich: no free media coverage of his issues. Rural Alaska will hold strong for both Stevens and Young; the question is how much the potential acquittal of Stevens will hold off swing voters in urban Alaska (Anchorage and Fairbanks) from going Berkowitz's way. I still give the advantage to Berkowitz because Young used all of his money against Sean Parnell in the Republican primary. But a Steven acquittal could put him over the top if Young keeps up this momentum.

The Alaska State Legislature

The State Senate is holding at 11 Republicans to 9 Democrats, although the 6 of the Republicans joined the 9 Democrats to form a bipartisan coalition. In all likelihood, this number holds, although there are open Reublican seats in Fairbanks where Republican Cynthia Henry (a former staffer for Ted Stevens) has the advantage over Democrat Joe Paskvan, and in Anchorage where current Republican State Representative Kevin Meyer has the advantage over former Anchorage city councilman Doug Van Etten.

There is no doubt that Palin being at the top of the ticket has helped. McCain went from a shaky single digit lead in Alaska to a healthy double digit lead. The same can be said in the State House, where Republicans have a 23 to 17 advantage. There are about 6 Republican seats and 2 Democratic seats that are in some danger of switching over. The probability is that Democrats will only pick up one or maybe two of the Republican seats. The problem is that there are enough RINOs in the State House that would create a coalition with the Democrats if the Republican advantage was eroded to 21 to 19. A Stevens acquittal would secure a healthy Republican majority. A Stevens conviction will probably mean a State House coalition, or maybe even an outright Democratic majority.

How does this change the political landscape of Alaska? Let's take a look at the difference. Stevens acquittal = Stevens in the Senate, possibly Young staying in the House, and Republican majorities in the state legislature. Stevens conviction = Begich and Berkowitz in the Senate and House, along with at least Democratic-controlled coalitions in the state legislature. Add this to liberal majorities in many city councils across Alaska, Democrats have fertile ground from which to build a blue farm team in a red state.

Never before have 12 people who are not registered voters in the State of Alaska have had so much influence in Alaska, and possibly the potential rubber-stamping of a liberal agenda from the Hill.

Finally! After talking about it in two different posts, a Republican incumbent has taken on Democrat hypocrisy on domestic energy production. Yesterday, I talked about how Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) is attempting to balance being pro-development while taking money and ground support from anti-domestic energy production extremist environmentalists.

Last night, Ted Stevens sent a letter to his Democratic opponent, offering use of his Senate office while Begich is in DC fundraising:

"Dear Mark,

"I understand you are in Washington, D.C, to hold a fundraiser for your campaign tomorrow. I hope that you will also find the time while you are here to help address Alaska's and America's energy needs.

"Although you have been hesitant to admit this, Alaskans know that for 40 years most Senate Democrats have routinely blocked efforts to explore and develop our state’s resources. In 1995, after the Congress passed legislation allowing exploration in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), President Clinton vetoed that measure."

After outlining a proposal that includes exploration and development in ANWR, the OCS, and incentives for expansion of nuclear power, Stevens urged Begich to start lobbying his Democratic friends now:

"I note that when Senator Jon Tester visited Alaska earlier this year you admitted that you did not raise the ANWR issue with him ...

"I urge you to start today. When you have free time in D.C. or during your fundraiser, talk to the members of the party you want to join in Washington and get them to publicly announce they will support exploration of the coastal plain. Get them to agree to allow a vote on opening the OCS to drilling and providing revenue sharing to states. My request is simple: as you spend time in Washington, D.C., and take campaign contributions from Senate Democrats and their supporters, please try to convince them to remove their objections to developing the full potential of our state. Alaska holds the key to America’s future energy security if your party will allow it.

"If you need any assistance with this effort while in Washington, D.C., be it a place to work or help navigating the Capitol complex, please do not hesitate to ask my office."

Lisa Murkowski used this tactic four years ago against former Gov. Tony Knowles in her tight Senate battle. While this is still just a tactic, it's one that should be used by other vulnerable Republican incumbents in districts where the energy issue plays well. It's a great way to earn free media on an issue that's a winner for us.

That's the tactic ... but what's the strategy? Republicans still need to find ways of merging the energy and economic messages. Congressman Eric Cantor has started this with a "Middle Class Bill of Rights," and other Republican candidates, incumbents and challengers, need to start messaging at the intersection of energy security and economic prosperity for the next 40 days.

The Senate race in Alaska is still alive. Even with Ted Stevens on trial starting this week, he only trails Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich by 3.7% according to the latest RCP average.

Essentially, the race comes down to the outcome of the trial: Stevens acquitted = win, Stevens convicted = loss. In a future post, I will talk about why I, as a conservative and an Alaskan, still support Ted Stevens. I know there are many here who aren't fans of him, but I do intend on making the case for why he's much better than the alternative this November. So let me spend some time on his opponent: Mark Begich.

The story on Begich is simple: he'll say anything to get elected. (I've posted before on how he stretches his record as mayor, but the NRSC and the Alaska Republican Party have set that record straight.) Begich says he supports drilling in ANWR and expanding refining capacity in the following ad ...

But Begich not only keeps on taking money from Hollywood and New York liberals that oppose any sort of drilling. He's taken money from potential Senate colleagues that think the same, including PAC dollars from Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Russ Feingold, Dick Durbin, John Kerry, and Barbara Boxer. But it doesn't stop there. Alaska Conversation Voters (ACV), a very powerful anti-drilling-in-ANWR extremist environmentalist grassroots organization, has started running ads against Ted Stevens ...

Begich has not called for these ads to be pulled, and didn't call on the DSCC to pull their presumptuous ads about Stevens' trial, even though Alaska broadcast stations removed them because of their innacuracy. One thing to note about Alaska Conservation Voters is the amount of incredible amount power they have with Democratic candidates in Alaska. It seems like an oxymoron that a rabidly anti-drilling-in-ANWR group would have so much influence in Alaska, but they essentially run the ground operation for Democratic candidates, most of whom are on the record in support of more exploration and production in Alaska. Whose side is Begich really on?

One of the things I would have liked to see vulnerable House Republican incumbents do during the #dontGo movement last month is to pressure their Democratic opponents to push Pelosi for an energy vote. If I were a vulnerable GOP incumbent from Alaska, I would sent out a press release inviting my pro-drilling Democratic opponent to work in my office to convince Democrats this session for a vote, since energy is one of the top issues this election.

With an issue like energy production, we have to expose hypocritical Democrats like Mark Begich, and tell them to either stop taking extremist environmental money or admit that they will just cave into the anti-energy production lobby if they get elected.

The day of reckoning is here for candidates and four ballot measures in the Last Frontier. Polls are open from 7 AM to 8 PM local (11 AM to 12 AM EST). The first results come in at 9 PM local (1 AM EST) ... you bet I'm staying up for this one. I might even nap through dinner time and get up to catch Hillary's speech beforehand.

Here's a summary of the races to watch ... I won't be endorsing candidates, but I will speak out against three of the initiatives. If you want to see a smattering of Alaskan ads, here they are.

U.S. Senate - Republican Primary: With a trial coming up in late September, Ted Stevens is still the favorite in this primary among six other candidates. Former legislator and bank president David Cuddy, who ran against Stevens in 1996, has been seen as the alternative; but his campaign has been quite unexciting. Vic Vickers moved up from Florida and claimed residency starting this January and started running anti-corruption ads; rumor has it that he was a Democrat plant. Think what you may of him, but after the indictment, Stevens came out swinging and the amount of positive response to Ted was nothing short of amazing.

U.S. Senate - Democratic Primary: Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich will run away with this one, but not without getting bruised by former GOP legislator, Alaska Republican Moderate Party leader and now registered Democrat Ray Metcalfe who has been exposing Begich's ties with local real estate developers.

Congress At-Large - Republican Primary: This is the race to watch! Lt. Governor Sean Parnell had been the early favorite, but Kodiak State Rep. Gabrielle Ledoux has run three admittedly good ads which put her from 1% to 10% of the vote in the latest polls. It might be because of that that Don Young and Sean Parnell are within the margin of error. While Sean has received the endorsement of Gov. Sarah Palin, I tend not to put a lot of stock into any endorsement, no matter how popular the endorser. Plus, I'm actually more impressed with Don's ads than I am with Sean's. The Anchorage Daily News' gossip column called Don vs. Sean "Mr. Bluster vs. Mr. Bland."

Congress At-Large - Democratic Primary: This pits establishment candidate Ethan Berkowitz against Diane Benson, who received 40% of the vote against Don Young two years ago. Berkowitz was minority leader for many years in the State House, and ran for Governor two years ago before dropping down before the filing deadline to be Tony Knowles' lite gov candidate. Haven't seen any polling, but Berkowitz seems to be the favorite. I won't be surprised if Benson keeps it close.