Senate Republican vote on Stevens postponed

ANCHORAGE (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, convicted last month of political corruption, turned 85 on Tuesday with his re-election bid facing a mounting hurdle.

With just 10,000 ballots still to be counted from the November 4 election, Democratic challenger Mark Begich, the popular mayor of Anchorage, extended his lead to 2,374, state election officials said.

A winner could be declared later in the night, though a recount is possible.

Earlier on Tuesday, a move to oust Stevens from the Senate Republican conference was abruptly postponed.

Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina said he would now seek a vote on Thursday on whether to remove Stevens from the Republican senators' organizing group and strip him of his committee assignments.

With three razor-close Senate races including Alaska's yet to be decided from the November 4 election, Democrats already have gained six seats to boost their majority in the 100-member Senate to 57.

If they picked up all three undecided seats, for the first time in three decades they would have a majority big enough, 60, to pass legislation over Republican procedural hurdles.

The race in Georgia is headed for a December 2 runoff. A recount is planned in Minnesota with results expected next month.

DeMint last week called for a vote on Tuesday on a resolution to remove Stevens from the Senate Republican conference, saying the party needs to clean its political house after Democrats won the White House and made big gains in Congress in the November 4 election.

But in a statement just hours before the conference met privately to elect leaders for the new Congress set to convene in January, DeMint said he would postpone action.

'QUESTION NOW IS TIMING'

"After talking with many of my colleagues, it's clear there are sufficient votes to pass the resolution regarding Senator Stevens," DeMint said.

"The question now is timing. Some who support the resolution believe we should address this after the results of his election are confirmed in Alaska. For this reason, I will ask the conference to postpone the vote on Senator Stevens until Thursday," DeMint said.

Stevens, who could be the first convicted felon to win election to the Senate, was mobbed by reporters when he emerged briefly from a meeting of Senate Republicans.

Asked whether he thinks his colleagues would let him serve in the Senate next year if he wins re-election, Stevens, said, "I have no control over that."

He also noted timing problems because the appeal of his convictions might not be completed until February, after the new Congress begins.

Stevens bristled when asked whether his conviction was hurting the Republican Party, which has been buffeted by corruption cases over the past few years.

"This is not a corruption case," he said, adding it was a case involving "a failure to disclose" gifts.

He was convicted last month of seven counts of lying on Senate disclosure forms by failing to report more than $250,000 in home improvements and other gifts from an oil executive. He faces up to 35 years in prison.

If Stevens wins re-election, but loses his appeal, he appears certain to be expelled from the Senate where both Democrats and Republicans have voiced support for such action.

(Writing by Tom Ferraro; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)