Is Sarah Palin Nipping at Ted Stevens' Heels?





Alaska's Ted Stevens could have some competition for his Senate seat -- and we don't mean his tight reelection race.

We have a fascinating situation in Alaska. Convicted felon Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is clinging to a 2 point lead over his Democratic challenger, Mark Begich.

If this lead holds and Stevens, 84, wins reelection, his race will be the biggest shocker of Election Day. And he'll hold a place in history as the first convicted felon ever reelected to the Senate.

As the Anchorage Daily News reports, the race may not be decided for two weeks given the roughly 40,000 absentee ballots left to be counted, plus "9,000 uncounted early votes and thousands of questioned ballots."

If Stevens does beat the odds and wins his surreal reelection battle, he won't be welcome back in the Senate, where Democrats gained at least five more seats last night with the counting still going strong in yet undecided races.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said this week that even if Stevens wins his race, he shouldn't expect to keep his job on Capitol Hill. "The reality is that a convicted felon is not going to be able to serve in the United States Senate," Reid said. "And as precedent shows us, Senator Stevens will face an ethics committee investigation and expulsion, regardless of his appeals process."

And what might happen if his colleagues do kick Stevens out of the Senate, prompting a special election? Who might be in line to replace him? Hint: lipstick; $150,000 wardrobe. Yep, you betcha! Sarah Palin.

And although Palin would likely face a legal challenge if she tried to appoint herself or a temporary replacement (a law passed by the Alaska Legislature after Lisa Murkowski's appointment to the Senate by her father, former Gov. Frank Murkowski, requires a special election to fill any Senate vacancies) she would certainly be the frontrunner in any race to replace Stevens.

Palin has no made no secret of her desire to stay on the national political scene. And - just ask President-elect Barack Obama - what better place than the Senate to launch your bid for the White House?