Anchorage developer Dave Cuddy joined the U.S. Senate race Wednesday, hoping to win a Republican primary election upset over incumbent Sen. Ted Stevens.

With the filing deadline days away, Cuddy filed paperwork with the state to put his name on the Aug. 26 primary ballot.

He first signaled in December that he intended to try for Stevens' job.

Stevens -- who beat Cuddy once before, in 1996 -- is running for re-election against a slate of contenders, including Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich and former state legislator Ray Metcalfe.

As for campaign themes, Cuddy talked about national issues such as reducing the federal debt and what he sees as a collapse of family values.

"It's not that I won't bring home the bacon where it's appropriate, but that can't be our only priority, that can't be the only thing we all care about," he said.

Stevens' campaign responded to Cuddy's announcement with a prepared statement:

"This campaign will be about who can best fight for individual Alaskans, and I look forward to continuing to discuss with Alaskans my record of doing just that," Stevens said.

The last time Cuddy faced Stevens in the primary, he got 27 percent of the vote and spent about $1 million of his own money. Cuddy said he doesn't plan to spend as much on the rematch.

He talked about his campaign in a phone interview from Texas, where he said his small film studio, Studio Estates, is about to start production on a political thriller called "Conflict of Interest."

Cuddy's a former Anchorage legislator and a member of one of the city's most prominent banking families.

Jerry Heikes, Rich Wanda and Rick Sikma are also trying for the Republican primary nomination according to the state Division of Elections. Metcalfe is running as a Democrat against Begich and Frank Vondersaar, while Bob Bird is running for the Alaska Independence Party nomination.

Ted Gianoutsos is on the ballot by independent petition.