Mark Peter Begich ( ; born March 30, 1962) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States senator from Alaska from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as mayor of Anchorage from 2003 to 2009. As of 2026, he is the most recent Democrat to serve Alaska in the U.S. Senate.
Begich was born in Anchorage, making him the first US Senator native to the state. He is the son of former US Representative Nick Begich Sr. He was elected to the Anchorage Assembly at the age of 26. He eventually served as chairman for three years, before leaving the Assembly in 1998. Begich ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Mayor of Anchorage in 1994 and 2000 before being elected in 2003. He was reelected in 2006. In the 2008 Senate election, Begich narrowly defeated incumbent Ted Stevens, at the time the longest-serving Republican member of the US Senate. His victory as a Democrat in Republican-dominated Alaska was largely considered an upset, owing to a guilty verdict for seven counts of false statements during a 7-year investigation by the Department of Justice.
In the 2014 Senate election, Begich was narrowly defeated in his bid for reelection by former Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan.Bohrer, Becky. Republican Dan Sullivan wins Senate race in Alaska , Associated Press, November 12, 2014.2014 General Election – Unofficial Results, Alaska Department of Elections, November 4, 2014.Mark Begich concedes to Dan Sullivan, Politico Retrieved November 23, 2014.Democrat Begich concedes to Republican Sullivan in Alaska race, Fox News. Retrieved November 23, 2014. Following completion of his term in the US Senate, Begich started Anchorage-based consulting firm Northern Compass Group. On June 1, 2018, Begich announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Alaska in the 2018 election, facing off against Republican nominee and former state senator Mike Dunleavy. He lost the gubernatorial election by a margin of seven percentage points.
Early life, education, and early political career Begich was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. He is the son of Margaret Jean "Pegge" (née Jendro) and former US Representative Nick Begich. His father disappeared in October 1972 during a small plane flight from Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska with then-US House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, but was reelected the next month, while missing, before both were declared legally dead.Murphy, Kim. "Begich ends low-key approach" . Los Angeles Times. November 20, 2008.
The fourth of six children, he has two sisters and three brothers. His paternal grandparents were Croatian; his paternal grandfather, John Begich, immigrated to the United States from Croatia (then part of the empire of Austria-Hungary) in 1911.Begich, Tom. (April 30, 2006). Interviewed by Judy Ferguson. Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2007-04-04. Tom Begich, brother of Mark Begich, says of his father, "Until I was nearly 12, I grew up with a man who was a legend, the son of Croatian immigrants, but who disappeared Oct. 16, 1972, into the clouds." His mother had Polish, Bohemian (Czech), Dutch, and English ancestry. He attended Steller Secondary School in Anchorage. As an adolescent, he opened an 18-and-under club called "The Motherlode". At the age of 18, he had obtained a business license to sell jewelry and was helping his mother manage a number of real estate properties. Because of his business opportunities, he decided not to go to college.
His mother, who had filled her late husband's seat in a 1973 special election, ran twice against longtime Congressional Representative Don Young in the 1980s, losing both times.
At the age of 19, Begich started working in the Anchorage city health department and later worked as a driver for then-Anchorage Mayor Tony Knowles. During the 1988 legislative session, Begich worked as a legislative aide for State Representative Dave Donley. Begich was elected to the Anchorage Assembly in 1988, at age 26, and served until 1998, including three years as chairman and two as vice chairman.
Begich served for a number of years on the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, including as its chair. In 2001, Governor Tony Knowles appointed Begich to the University of Alaska Board of Regents, but the legislature did not confirm the appointment.
Mayor of Anchorage
Begich ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1994 against Rick Mystrom and in 2000 against then‑Assemblyman George Wuerch. In the 2003 mayoral race, he narrowly defeated both Mystrom and Wuerch, receiving only 11 votes more than the 45‑percent threshold required to avoid a runoff under a law approved simultaneously with the election.
He was reelected in April 2006, defeating local advertising and radio personality Jack Frost. Although the office is officially nonpartisan, Begich became the first Democrat to serve as Mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage since Tony Knowles.
Begich was a member of the pro-gun-control group Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Begich left the group in 2007.
United States Senator Elections 2008
On February 27, 2008, Begich announced that he was forming an exploratory committee to run for the United States Senate. After winning the Democratic nomination, he went on to face Republican incumbent Ted Stevens in the general election. Begich was ahead in polls prior to the election. During the campaign, Stevens faced a multiple count indictment on ethics and corruption charges.Race Ratings Chart: Senate CQ Politics 2008 Senate Race Ratings The Cook Political Report, October 9, 2008 2008 Senate Ratings The Rothenberg Political Report, September 29, 2008
On October 27, 2008, eight days before the general election, Stevens was found guilty by a Washington D.C. federal jury on seven felony counts.Alaska Senator Found Guilty of Lying About Gifts, The New York Times, October 27, 2008
Stevens's conviction was later set aside due to prosecutorial misconduct. Attorney General Eric Holder later declined to retry Stevens on the corruption charges.
In April 2009, Alaska Republican Party chairman Randy Ruedrich issued a call for Begich to resign so a special election could be held. Despite the fact that the charges had been brought under President George W. Bush, Ruedrich argued that Begich's win was illegitimate because of "improper influence from the corrupt Department of Justice." The same day Governor Sarah Palin seconded Ruedrich's call, although she later denied having said Begich should resign. Begich said he intended to serve his full six-year term.Bolstad, Erika; and Sean Cockerham. Palin, Republicans call for special Senate election . Anchorage Daily News, April 3, 2009.
On November 18, 2008, the Associated Press called the election for Begich,Yahoo! News. Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens loses re-election bid November 18, 2008 who was leading and likely to win by more than the 0.5% margin needed to trigger an automatic recount, with the remainder of uncounted ballots originating from the Anchorage area.Quinn, Sean. "Begich will be Alaska's first U.S. Senate Democrat since Gravel" . FiveThirtyEight. November 18, 2008. Stevens conceded the race the next day.
Begich's victory made him Alaska's first Democratic US Senator since Mike Gravel left office in 1981.
2014
Begich was up for re-election in 2014. He faced William Bryk in the Democratic primary on August 19, 2014, winning 96.7% of the vote. Candidates in the closed Republican primary included Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell, who received 25% of the vote; former Alaska Attorney General and Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Daniel S. Sullivan, who won with 40%; 2010 US Senate nominee Joe Miller (32%); and John Jaramillo (3%). Alaska's 2014 US Senate race was considered one of the most competitive congressional races in the nation, with the Cook Political Report rating it a "toss-up." In the final Rothenberg Political Report before the election, the Report considered the race a "Toss-up/Tilt Republican."
In August 2014, shortly before the Senate primary, Lisa Murkowski, who served alongside Begich in the US Senate, objected to Begich's use of her image in a campaign advertisement titled "Great Team." Murkowski's law firm sent a cease-and-desist letter, calling the advertisement "factually incorrect." According to Politico, "Begich, running in deep-red Alaska, has sought on several occasions to highlight shared positions with Murkowski. But she is distancing herself." Begich declined to pull the ad.
According to The New York Times, Alaska's 2014 US Senate race is "potentially pivotal" and "nationally watched." The New York Times reported that in a bid to keep his seat, "Begich will try to attract rural voters and supporters of abortion rights." According to The Washington Post, Begich is campaigning on the idea of expanding Social Security benefits. According to The Washington Post, "Begich is one of a small but growing group of Democratic lawmakers who support the idea of lifting or changing the payroll tax cap, so higher earners pay more while adopting a new measure for inflation that would increase benefits for all seniors."
In August 2014, Begich pulled a campaign ad accusing opponent Dan Sullivan of allowing an alleged murderer and rapist to get off with a light sentence. That claim was proven to be false by fact-checkers. The ad was withdrawn from Alaska television stations following demands from the crime victim's family that the ads were both insensitive and threatened prosecution of a criminal suspect.
Begich voted against a Republican-sponsored amended in the Senate to strip all funding from President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and to prevent the DACA program from being expanded. During the campaign, Sullivan criticized Begich's vote.
On November 17, 2014, Begich conceded the election to Sullivan.Joseph, Cameron. Begich concedes Alaska Senate race, The Hill, November 17, 2014.
Tenure On February 13, 2009, Begich voted to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act).
In 2012, Begich introduced a bill called the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act. The bill would have lifted the payroll tax cap, raising taxes on those who earn $110,100 or more per year. It did not pass.
According to an analysis by Congressional Quarterly in 2013 Begich voted with President Obama 97% of the time.
In March 2013, Begich co-sponsored a bill that would flag individuals attempting to buy guns who have used an insanity defense, were ruled dangerous by a court or had been committed by a court to mental health treatment. It did not address the gun show loophole. It was not passed into law.
Representative Don Young (R–AK) praised Begich for doing a "great job" representing Alaska.
Legislation Begich sponsored 164 bills of his own, including:
111th Congress (2009–2010)