WASHINGTON  — If Sen. Ted Stevens has his way, he’ll soon be spending his days on trial for corruption charges and his evenings and weekends campaigning for re-election.

To manage such a schedule, Stevens needs to persuade a judge to move his trial from Washington to Alaska, where he has been a dominant figure in politics for decades. His lawyers were due in federal court today to argue for the move.

The Senate’s longest-serving Republican, Stevens is accused of lying on Senate financial disclosure documents about hundreds of thousands of dollars in home renovations and gifts he received from a corrupt oil services contractor.

He asked for, and received, an unusually speedy trial that he hopes will clear his name before Election Day.

“Unfortunately, no matter the outcome of this trial, this schedule alone may not be enough to ensure that Senator Stevens has the ability to compete meaningfully in the upcoming election,” Stevens’ lawyers wrote in court documents recently. “Were venue transferred to Alaska, Senator Stevens would have the opportunity to campaign in the evenings and on weekends during the trial.”

Stevens’ lawyers say they want jurors to visit the senator’s ski resort chalet, which was renovated by VECO Corp. employees.

His attorneys argue the cost of those renovations is nowhere near the government’s estimate.

The Justice Department opposes the request and a federal judge indicated he was not likely to grant it. Prosecutors say the crime — lying on Senate documents — took place in Washington.

As for the value of the renovations, prosecutors say that’s not the issue. The question, they say, isn’t whether he received precisely $250,000 from VECO; it’s whether the value exceeded the $260 limit that Senate rules say must be disclosed.