Long-time observers of The Cook Political Report’s race ratings know that they are dictated by a few hard and fast rules. One, implemented in the Report’s early days, is that no incumbent moves beyond the Toss Up column and into the other party’s ratings territory unless they’ve been indicted. It is true that toward the end of a cycle, incumbents whose causes look hopeless will cross that line; the ratings equivalent of being taken off life support.
This rule has been invoked so rarely that we can’t remember the last time it was, and it is possible that it’s never happened in a Senate race. Tuesday’s indictment of GOP Sen. Ted Stevens changes that as the race moves from Toss Up to the Lean Democratic column.
The federal indictment against Stevens includes seven criminal counts of making false statements on his financial disclosure reports to conceal $250,000 in payments for goods and services from executives of VECO, an oil-field services company. The indictment alleges that in return VECO executives asked Stevens for assistance in helping the firm secure federal grants
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