A district court judge in Minnesota has denied U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's request to withdraw his guilty plea to disorderly conduct resulting from an airport sex sting.

Judge Charles A. Porter Jr. said Craig's plea was "accurate, voluntary and intellegent" and his conviction was supported by the evidence presented by prosectuors.

Craig has remained in the Senate past a self-imposed Sept. 30 deadline to resign while waiting for the judge's ruling. He issued a statement this afternoon saying he would remain in office for the remainder of his term and continue to try to clear his name.

In his ruling issued this morning, Porter noted that Craig expressly waived his rights to have a trial, to cross-examine witnesses, to remain silent, to subpoena witnesses and to contest the admissibility of the evidence presented against him.

"A plea is not intelligent if the charges are not clear," the judge wrote. "Even if the defendant has less than average intelligence, the plea is still valid if the charges are stated in plain language."

Craig was arrested in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport restroom after a police officer said he exhibited behavior indicating he wanted to engage in lewd conduct.

In the June 11 arrest, the officer said Craig had looked into his bathroom stall, and tapped his foot and moved his hand under the divider in a way that suggested he was looking for a sexual partner.

The incident occurred in early June, and the Republican senator ultimately pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct in August. After the plea became public, Craig stressed that he is not gay and did not do anything wrong, and he said he would fight the conviction.

The judge found that the evidence presented by the arresting officer supported Craig's guilty plea.

"The evidence that the Defendant intentionally entered into Sgt. Karsnia's stall with his eyes, hand and foot establishes that the Defendant violated the right to privacy in an offensive way that would reasonably tend to cause anger, alarm, or resentment in the stall's occupant," Porter wrote in his decision.

One of the points Craig made in his move to have the plea overturned was that Karsnia told him he wouldn't call the media but the matter ultimately became public.

Judge Porter said that contention "misstates the evidence" because Karsnia never said the media would never find out about the case.

"The prosecutor made it clear to the Defendant that the conviction would be part of the Defendant's criminal record," Porter wrote. "The Defendant clearly knew that if Sgt. Karsnia did not call the media, the charges and conviction in this case would be of public record."

In his ruling, the judge made numerous citations of case law that support his decision to deny Craig's request.

Craig can appeal the district judge's ruling to a state appellate court, but lawyers say his chances to successfully withdraw the plea are slim.

Fellow Republicans in the Senate called on Craig to resign in the days after his guilty plea was made public. The senator held a press conference announcing his "intent" to resign but later suggested he would serve out his term if he could clear up his legal troubles.

If were to resign after all, Gov. Butch Otter would appoint his replacement. Nearly three dozen people have announced interest, including Lt. Gov. Jim Risch and Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.

The longtime congressman denied any attempt to engage in sexual behavior in statements he made during an interview with the officer after his arrest. But he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Aug. 8. He later said he “panicked” in entering his plea, believing that it would keep the matter quiet.

The Idaho Statesman had been holding back an article on rumors about his sexuality, and Craig said in court papers that he feared the arrest would trigger the story.

Porter rejected that as a good reason to withdraw the plea. Any pressure Craig was under “was entirely perceived by the defendant and was not a result of any action by the police, the prosecutor, or the court,” he said.

Prosecutor Christopher Renz had accused Craig of “politicking and game playing” with the legal system and argued that Craig was urged to hire an attorney and had plenty of time to think about his plea.

Patrick Hogan, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission, said in a statement that the commission, which runs Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, was pleased with the decision.

“The ruling continues to hold Senator Craig accountable for his conduct,” Hogan said.

• Check back for more details on this developing story.

• The Associated Press contributed to this report.