Alaska Star May Add Luster to Tarnished Senator GIRDWOOD, Alaska - The day Gov. Sarah Palin was introduced as the Republican candidate for vice president, her fellow Alaska Republican, Senator Ted Stevens, announced his strong support. "I share in the pride of all Alaskans," Mr. Stevens declared. Mayor Mark Begich of Anchorage, a Democrat who is challenging Mr. Stevens for the seat he has held for 40 years, has also made a point of praising Ms. Palin - even claiming a kinship with her as a reformer. Though he supports Senator Barack Obama for president, Mr. Begich says Ms. Palin's nomination is good for Alaska and for women. "They sort of represent the next generation of leadership," Julie Hasquet, a spokeswoman for the Begich campaign, said of Ms. Palin and Mr. Begich. Ms. Palin has spent most of this month out of state, campaigning with Senator John McCain, and has endorsed neither Mr. Stevens nor Mr. Begich. But that has not stopped both candidates from trying to benefit from her enormous popularity in Alaska, which has only grown since she joined the McCain ticket. Few people believe Ms. Palin would openly support a Democrat, but neither is she expected to endorse Mr. Stevens, who goes on trial next week in Washington on federal felony charges that he concealed more than $250,000 in home renovations and gifts. "Her silence," Ms. Hasquet suggested, "is telling." Or it may be an opportunity for Mr. Stevens. Ms. Palin has long had a distant relationship with Mr. Stevens, but as she has moved to the national stage, Mr. Stevens has risen in some opinion polls in Alaska, a benefit some have attributed at least in part to the Republican enthusiasm Ms. Palin has generated. "He's the old generation and she's the new," said Connie Scott, a Republican, stepping out of the post office here in Girdwood, Mr. Stevens's official state residence. I think it'd be nice to have a little of both. Then again, Mr. Begich is counting on potentially weeks of bad publicity for the senator from the coming trial (to say nothing of a possible guilty verdict) to raise doubts among voters - and keep Ms. Palin at a safe distance from the senator. This week, as Mr. Stevens has closed in on Mr. Begich in some polls, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee began running television advertisements that accuse Mr. Stevens of directing federal money to benefit his son, Ben Stevens, a former president of the Alaska Senate who was linked to a federal investigation of state lawmakers. The Stevens campaign criticized the advertisements as the act of a desperate campaign, and two television stations in Fairbanks - the Fox and CBS affiliates - said they would pull them at least temporarily while they consulted with their lawyers. Few successful politicians in Alaska have crossed Mr. Stevens, but Ms. Palin has come closer than most. "She's been tactful, I guess," said Jerry McBeath, a professor of political science at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, "which is unusual for her." Mr. Stevens endorsed Ms. Palin for governor in 2006, and she later sought his support for tens of millions of dollars from the federal government in state projects. But in 2007, the governor urged Ben Stevens, the senator's son, to resign as a Republican national committeeman because of the federal investigation of state lawmakers. That summer, after federal agents raided the elder Mr. Stevens's home in Girdwood, the governor called on him to explain his involvement with William J. Allen, the oil industry executive at the center of the investigation who the authorities say gave gifts to the senator. This summer, in a rare joint news conference with the governor, before he was indicted, Mr. Stevens joked that Ms. Palin sometimes called him "stupid," but both insisted on their respect for each other. Asked then whether she would endorse Mr. Stevens, Ms. Palin said she could not discuss politics because they were in a government building during the workday. This week, Meghan Stapleton, the governor's former press secretary and now a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, was also evasive. Asked if Ms. Palin supported Mr. Stevens for re-election, Ms. Stapleton said: "I can't say. I'm not going to speak for her in terms of opposing or supporting him. But I know that they have worked well together, especially over the last few months, in making sure that Americans have fuel for their homes and businesses. Mr. Stevens has encouraged the notion that Ms. Palin is not against him by providing her with some political cover. The day she addressed the Republican convention, he said it would be inappropriate to ask for her endorsement, because of his legal troubles. "We should await the outcome of the problem I face in court," he said. A few days later, Mr. Stevens took pains to defend Ms. Palin's disputed claim that she rejected the so-called Bridge to Nowhere in Ketchikan, Alaska. Mr. Stevens initially helped direct about $200 million in federal money to the state for the abandoned project. "I defended it in the Senate," Mr. Stevens said. She did not support that. Whatever outcome Ms. Palin may want for the Senate race, she is not expected to be here to watch it unfold. Ms. Stapleton said Ms. Palin, busy campaigning nationally, would have little chance to return to Alaska before Election Day. Mr. Stevens also has plans that make it hard to get home for a while. His trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 24 and is expected to last three weeks or longer. Aides say he will appear at some Alaska events via live video feeds. He is scheduled to appear via video in a Senate race debate on Oct. 16 at 1:30 p.m., Alaska time, likely just after court goes into recess that day on the East Coast. "One of the things we have going for us is the four-hour time difference," said Aaron Saunders, a spokesman for the Stevens campaign. There is speculation that Mr. Stevens will drop out of the race if he is found guilty, but only a two-thirds Senate vote for expulsion can remove him from office. Mr. Saunders said none of that was relevant right now. "We expect to win this trial and we expect to win this election," he said. There's no Plan B or C.