FAIRBANKS — Scott McAdams, the Democratic nominee in the U.S. Senate race, had 400 e-mails Tuesday morning. Many came from moderate and independent voters who hope he can stop Republican winner Joe Miller, whose extremism some fear represents “a direct threat to Alaska’s economy,” he said.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich joined the chorus of support for McAdams, saying he and aides have already offered campaign advice.

“If he says he wants my help, I’ll do whatever’s necessary,” Begich said Tuesday.

Begich, speaking by phone from Anchorage, said he was impressed by McAdams’ intelligence and independence and said he hopes to help introduce him to a broader audience.

McAdams, the mayor of Sitka, is a 39-year-old former commercial fishing deckhand raised in Southeast. He easily took last week’s Democratic primary, earning almost 50 percent of the vote in a four-way race. His closest opponent took 19 percent.

Democratic Party leaders this week were quick to back McAdams, brushing aside suggestions they’d seek a more experienced and recognizable candidate when it became apparent that Miller could defeat incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the GOP primary.

“People don’t want our senator to represent an ideological wing or fringe, but the whole state,” Deborah Williams, executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party, said Monday. She said top Democrats had incorporated the prospect of a Miller primary victory into their campaign strategy and doubted that strategy would change.

McAdams reported raising only $9,000 — a puny sum for a national senatorial campaign — through June. But McAdams supporters said a Miller win would level the playing field by eliminating the incumbent and leaving two candidates seeking to make fresh impressions with many voters.

McAdams addressed the name-recognition issue on his website before the Miller victory was clear. Some might doubt he could beat “a well-known incumbent,” he acknowledged, but he expected a solid chance against Miller.

McAdams said he thinks he’s closer ideologically to Murkowski than Miller. He also sees himself as more likely to carry on the legacy of former Sen. Ted Stevens, who Begich defeated in 2008, partly by working across party lines.

“So while Joe continues to court national press, we’ll continue to court Alaska voters,” McAdams said by phone Tuesday.

McAdams lists “fiscal responsibility,” resource development and “individual liberty” among his top issues. He supports oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. His campaign website promises to fight any “outside interest, corporate or governmental” that threatens individual freedom, protecting “how we live, who we love, where we pray or what we think.”

Begich said McAdams told him he’d like to scrap No Child Left Behind, the 9-year-old federal education initiative, and create a national renewable energy fund with proceeds from oil and gas development.

Begich said he sent aides to help McAdams and expects donors and Democratic supporters will quickly grow to recognize the candidate, partly because many dislike former Gov. Sarah Palin, who endorsed Miller late this summer.

Begich said he viewed Miller’s campaign as negative, a “politicized national” campaign that included suggestions of privatizing Social Security. Begich said he’s come to appreciate Stevens’ recognition that the federal government could help Alaska mature.

“I don’t think (Miller) really understands that,” Begich said.

Contact staff writer Christopher Eshleman at 459-7582.