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Gov. Sarah Palin on Friday denied asking Sen. Mark Begich to resign from his seat after criminal convictions against former Sen. Ted Stevens were thrown out.

"I didn't call on Begich to step down," she said during a press conference at the Capitol. "I said I absolutely agree all Alaskans deserve a fair, untainted election for their United States Senate seat.

Immediately after the U.S. Department of Justice dropped the charges against Stevens, Palin had said she agreed with a call by Alaska Republican Party Chair Randy Ruedrich that Begich should resign so a special election could be held.

The same day, she told the Empire something similar.

"I'd love to see a fair special election, I can't see how Mark Begich would argue that," she said.

It's not clear how a special election could come about without Begich resigning, and Palin provided no suggestions.

"I'm not splitting hairs on how it can or can't happen legally," she said. "I want to see an election that is fair, that isn't influenced unduly."