WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin says Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens should resign.

Stevens was convicted Monday on seven counts of trying to hide more than $250,000 in free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor. He is asking his Senate colleagues as well as Alaska's voters to stand by him as he appeals the verdicts.

In an interview Tuesday with CNBC, Palin said Stevens should step aside now and allow the state to elect someone else.

Earlier in the day, Republican presidential candidate John McCain called for Stevens to quit. McCain said Stevens had, in McCain's words, "broken his trust with the people."

Stevens faces re-election next week. The Senate could expel him even if he is re-elected.

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