His Democratic opponent, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, has debated against a Stevens staffer reading prepared remarks and a videotape of Stevens. They've had no joint appearances and Begich, who earlier said he would keep his campaign focused on the issues, said Friday enough is enough and blasted Stevens' ethics, citing testimony from the trial.

"Lets be clear how we got here; frankly, Senator Stevens has put himself into the position he is in because he is too close to special interests and was best friends and business partners with Bill Allen," Begich said.

Stevens is in Washington, D.C., awaiting a verdict on charges of failing to report gifts from Allen, the former chief of the oil field services company Veco Corp., who is at the center of the broad FBI probe into corruption in Alaska politics.

Stevens asked for a speedy trial in hopes of getting an acquittal before the election. But just 10 days are left before the vote and delays in the jury's deliberations make it increasingly possible there won't be a verdict until a few days before, if then.

Begich said no matter what the jury decides, Stevens showed poor judgment.

"We learned in his trial that he and his family used paid Senate staff to run errands; they wrapped gifts, walked the dog and paid his bills. That's a violation of Senate ethics rules," he said. "Alaskans need a senator who is not challenged by legal questions and inquiries that could go on for months and months."

Stevens campaign spokesman Aaron Saunders said Begich's attack represents a "clear change in strategy and what amounts to a desperate strategy to try to salvage a campaign."

"Mark Begich started out by saying he would talk about the issues, realized he wasn't getting any traction whatsoever, and has decided to take a page out of the Democrats' playbook, which is to start mudslinging and using dirty tactics," Saunders said.

He said the campaign is working on what to do about debates and candidate forums. It's not clear what Stevens will do about Sunday night's KTUU-TV debate but he will make a video recording answering questions from the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce over the weekend, which will be played at the group's Monday forum.

NOT JUST DEBATES

Saunders said he's hoping Stevens can appear in person at Thursday's Alaska Public Broadcasting debate. But that's questionable and Saunders said he is working on a Plan B. That might be a video conference in which Stevens and Begich could interact. It would be taped and the played at the debate, he said.

Saunders said Stevens, a Republican in the U.S. Senate since 1968, is getting his message out to voters, including through visits to Alaska from Stevens' friends, Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Hawaii Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye, and it's a political stunt for Begich to keep making it about debates.

"The senator is exploring a variety of different ways to connect with Alaska families and debates are not the only way," he said.

Begich has pressed the debate issue for weeks, calling on Stevens to phone in from the East Coast and debate him on the radio if that's what it takes. Begich said there's an economic crisis, an energy crisis and many other challenges, and voters need to see the candidates actually discussing the issues with each other. He's repeatedly traded questions at forums with Alaskan Independence Party candidate Bob Bird, who says the Republicans and Democrats are "two cars racing for the cliff of socialism," but said voters deserve to see him and Stevens.

SHIFT IN TONE

It's been an election like none in Alaska history, with Sarah Palin's vice presidential run dominating the news and Stevens' trial taking over the U.S. Senate race. "Twelve jurors cannot decide this election," Begich said.

But pollsters say the election could well come down to those jurors, no matter what either campaign says about the issues. Polls show Stevens and Begich essentially tied, with Alaskans watching to see how the trial turns out.

"It comes down to 12 people, none of whom are registered voters in the state of Alaska," said Anchorage pollster Marc Hellenthal, who isn't working for either of the candidates. "It has to be incredibly frustrating for Mark Begich, incredibly frustrating. ... He's got to sit back and wait for a jury and he doesn't have hardly any time to react to an acquittal if it comes through."

Stevens and Begich have aired ads trading blows as the election nears, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is running ads that essentially claim Stevens is corrupt. But Friday's remarks by Begich represent a shift in tone, as the mayor previously avoided personally going after Stevens on ethics.

The Stevens campaign said Begich has seen his lead in the polls shrink and is going into the gutter in a last-ditch effort to recover.

Begich said he's been patient. But he said he's had no chance to debate Stevens on the issues and it's increasingly unclear when the trial might end. Begich said he's watched, meanwhile, as evidence emerged at the trial.

"It shows that special interests and others really kind of manage the situation back there," he said. "So I think it is time to make a statement."

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Find Sean Cockerham online at adn.com/contact/scockerham or call him at 257-4344.