The 89-year-old Stevens says he "will surely" step down during Barack Obama's presidency, and will decide soon whether it's this year or next.
Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., worries that a nomination fight this year would mean gridlock in the partisan Senate. Specter thinks there's a better chance for consensus next year.
Specter tells "Fox News Sunday" he hopes Obama would pick someone who would be a check on executive power, as he says Stevens has provided.
Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, isn't ruling out a possible GOP filibuster.
