WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Deliberations in the corruption trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens were suspended on Friday so a juror could attend a relative’s funeral, a setback that is likely to push the verdict even closer to the Nov. 4 elections that will decide the powerful senator’s future.

Judge Emmet Sullivan dismissed the jury for the weekend and said he would decide on Sunday whether they will convene on Monday or later in the week.

“Everyone needs a day off every now and then,” Sullivan told the jury.

Stevens, a Republican who has served in the Senate for 40 years, was a popular figure in Alaska before the trial but now is locked in a tight reelection battle.

The loss of his seat would help Democrats reach a 60-seat majority in the 100-seat chamber, enough to overcome potential Republican roadblocks.

Stevens, 84, is charged with lying on Senate disclosure forms to hide hundreds of thousands of dollars in home renovations and other gifts from the Alaska oil services company VECO Corp.

Stevens’ lawyers say he and his wife thought they had paid for the renovations.

As one of the Senate’s most senior members, Stevens has had major influence over how U.S. taxpayer money is spent.

He is the first sitting senator to go on trial in 27 years, since New Jersey Democrat Harrison Williams was convicted for bribery in 1981.

The delay is not the first setback faced by the jury, which began deliberations on Wednesday.

On Thursday the jury asked Sullivan to remove one of their fellow jurors from the case because she was engaging in “violent outbursts.”

Sullivan did not remove the juror, but on Friday told an alternate juror that she might need to join the jury.