The National Republican Senatorial Committee is in a tough spot when it comes to Sen. Ted Stevens, who will appear in court tomorrow facing seven counts of lying on Senate financial disclosure forms. NRSC chair John Ensign said today that the committee won't endorse a candidate in the Alaska Senate race until after the primary late next month. From First Read:

Ensign, instead of endorsing the longest serving Senate Republican in history, said he wanted to wait for the results of Alaska's Republican primary on August 26th. Stevens faces six opponents.

"The candidates are on the ballot right now, and we're going to wait to see how that whole thing plays out," Ensign said.

"Do you still endorse Sen. Stevens?" a reporter asked Ensign.

"I've said exactly what I was going to say," Ensign responded. "We'll wait and see how the process plays out."

Vic Vickers, one of the six challenging Stevens, has now said he's willing to spend $750,000 of his own money on the race. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Vickers plans to run statewide TV ads from today through the primary. However, as Josh Kraushaar notes on The Scorecard, Vickers is "unlikely to unseat Stevens in the Republican primary on August 26. But his active opposition will provide an early test to exactly how vulnerable Stevens will be against Democrat Mark Begich in the November election."

Begich, the mayor of Anchorage, has led in most polls over the last three months.