In Alaska, GOP Algebra Is Now Calculus

Ted Stevens’ indictment radically changes the landscape in Alaska’s US Senate race, Chris Cillizza writes in the Washington Post. The octogenarian is one of six candidates in the Aug. 26 GOP primary, and it's too late to remove him from the running. The party's best-case scenario would be for Stevens to win and then step aside.

If a challenger prevails, Cillizza speculates, the GOP "seem likely to be stuck with a second tier (at best) candidate” against Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo notes the timing is unexpected; analysts expected Stevens’ son to be indicted first. And a local pollster tells the Anchorage Daily News: "Ted's prospects for winning the primary, they obviously just went up in smoke."
(More Ted Stevens stories.)