Stevens's personal residence. The FBI investigated the remodeling of Stevens home by Veco Corp., which is part of a broader corruption investigation involving Stevens's son, former State Senate President Ben Stevens. Two former Veco executives have plead guilty to paying the younger Stevens $242,000 in bribes. On July 30, 2007, the IRS and FBI raided Stevens's home in Alaska. On September 14, 2007, former Veco CEO Bill Allen testified at the trial of former State House Speaker Pete Kott that Veco paid people working to double the size of Stevens's home. On July 29, 2008, a federal grand jury indicted Stevens on seven felony counts for making false statements, and on October 26, a jury found Stevens guilty on all charges. The Democratic candidate was Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, the son of popular former Democratic Representative Nick Begich. Begich announced his candidacy for the Senate seat on April 22, 2008. On October 19, 2007, the AP reported that despite the allegations and FBI probe, several veteran GOP Senators—including Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), and Kit Bond (R-MO)—donated enough money to Stevens's re-election campaign to make it one of Stevens's most successful fund raising quarters ever. Stevens's conviction on seven felony counts of corruption put his re-election bid in serious jeopardy, coming just over a week before the election, though Stevens appealed the conviction. Nevertheless, Stevens was narrowly ahead in the vote count after election day, with only about two-thirds of all votes counted. It only became clear Begich had prevailed when early votes, absentee ballots, and questioned ballots were counted. On November 18, the race was called for Begich, who won with 47.8% to Stevens's 46.5%. Stevens was the most senior U.S. Senator to ever lose re-election, defeating Warren Magnuson's 1980 record. As of 2023, Stevens still holds this record. On April 1, 2009, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, citing serious prosecutorial misconduct during the trial, decided to drop all charges against Stevens—an action that vacated his conviction. Arkansas Despite being a first-term senator in a state George W. Bush won twice, Democrat Mark Pryor faced no opposition from Republicans in his re-election bid. Although Bush carried the state twice, Arkansas Democrats swept the seven state races held in the 2006 general election. Pryor is the son of longtime U.S. senator and former Arkansas Governor David Pryor. It was rumored that Lt. Governor Bill Halter would challenge Pryor