Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 4, 2008. It was one of the ten Senate races that Senator John Ensign of Nevada, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, predicted as being most competitive. The party Primary elections were held on Tuesday, August 26. Ted Stevens sought re-election as the Republican candidate, challenged by Democratic candidate Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage. On October 27, 2008, Stevens was convicted on seven charges of ethics violations and corruption. If reelected, Stevens would have been the first convicted felon elected to the United States Senate. On November 18, 2008, the Associated Press projected that Begich had defeated Stevens, making Stevens the longest-serving U.S. Senator ever to lose a re-election bid.