Senate Republicans have decided to hold off on voting to expel Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens from their conference, at least for the moment.

South Carolina's Jim DeMint has been leading the charge against Stevens, who was convicted on federal corruption charges last month. He says he has the votes for expulsion, but that the timing is not right since the race between Stevens and Democrat Mark Begich has still not been decided.

"After talking with many of my colleagues, it's clear there are sufficient votes to pass the resolution regarding Senator Stevens," DeMint said in a statement. "The question now is timing. Some who support the resolution believe we should address this after the results of his election are confirmed in Alaska. For this reason, I will ask the Conference to postpone the vote on Senator Stevens until Thursday."