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American politician (born 1962) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mark Peter Begich[1] (/ˈbɛɡɪtʃ/ BEGG-itch; 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.
Mark Begich | |
---|---|
Chair of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee | |
In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2015 | |
Leader | Harry Reid |
Preceded by | Debbie Stabenow |
Succeeded by | Amy Klobuchar |
United States Senator from Alaska | |
In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2015 | |
Preceded by | Ted Stevens |
Succeeded by | Dan Sullivan |
34th Mayor of Anchorage | |
In office July 1, 2003 – January 3, 2009 | |
Preceded by | George Wuerch |
Succeeded by | Dan Sullivan |
Chair of the Anchorage Assembly | |
In office April 30, 1996 – May 5, 1998 | |
Preceded by | Craig Campbell |
Succeeded by | Fay Von Gemmingen |
In office May 4, 1993 – December 7, 1993 | |
Preceded by | James Barnett |
Succeeded by | Dick Traini |
Member of the Anchorage Assembly from Seat H | |
In office October 4, 1988 – April 21, 1998 | |
Preceded by | Brad Bradley |
Succeeded by | Melinda Taylor |
Personal details | |
Born | Mark Peter Begich March 30, 1962 Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Deborah Bonito (m. 1990) |
Children | 1 |
Relatives | Nick Begich (father) Tom Begich (brother) Joseph Begich (uncle) |
Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Begich is the first Alaska senator to be born in the State of Alaska. He is the son of former U.S. 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 U.S. Senate.[2]
In the 2014 Senate election, Begich was narrowly defeated in his bid for reelection by former Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan.[3][4][5][6] Following completion of his term in the U.S. 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 percent.[7]
Begich was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska.[8] He is the son of Margaret Jean "Pegge" (née Jendro) and former U.S. Representative Nick Begich. His father disappeared in October 1972 during a small plane flight from Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska with then-U.S. House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, but was reelected the next month, while missing, before both were declared legally dead.[9]
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.[10] His mother had Polish, Bohemian (Czech), Dutch, and English ancestry.[11] 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.[12]
His mother twice ran to fill her late husband's Congressional seat in the 1980s, losing to longtime Representative Don Young both times.[13]
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.[12] 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.[12]
Begich served for a number of years on the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, including as its chair.[14] In 2001, Governor Tony Knowles appointed Begich to the University of Alaska Board of Regents, but the legislature did not confirm the appointment.[15]
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, earning only 11 votes over the number needed to win without a runoff, in accordance with a simultaneously approved law decreasing the threshold needed to avoid such a runoff election from 50 to 45 percent. He was re-elected in April 2006, winning against local advertising and radio personality Jack Frost. Although the office is officially nonpartisan, Begich was the first Democrat to be elected Mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage since Tony Knowles.[12]
Begich was a member of the pro-gun-control group Mayors Against Illegal Guns.[16] Begich left the group in 2007.[17]
On February 27, 2008, Begich announced that he was forming an exploratory committee to run for the United States Senate.[18] 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.[19][20][21]
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.[22]
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 by the Bush administration, 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.[23] Begich said he intended to serve his full six-year term.[24]
On November 18, 2008, the Associated Press called the election for Begich,[25] 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.[26] Stevens conceded the race the next day.[27]
Begich's victory made him Alaska's first Democratic U.S. Senator since Mike Gravel left office in 1981.[28]
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 U.S. Senate nominee Joe Miller (32%); and John Jaramillo (3%).[29] Alaska's 2014 U.S. Senate race was considered one of the most competitive congressional races in the nation, with the Cook Political Report rating it a "toss-up."[30][31] In the final Rothenberg Political Report before the election, the Report considered the race a "Toss-up/Tilt Republican."[32]
In August 2014, shortly before the Senate primary, Lisa Murkowski, who served alongside Begich in the U.S. 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."[33][34][35] Begich declined to pull the ad.[36]
According to The New York Times, Alaska's 2014 U.S. 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."[37] 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."[38]
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.[39] 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.[40][41][42]
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.[43]
On November 17, 2014, Begich conceded the election to Sullivan.[44]
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).[45]
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.[46][47]
According to an analysis by Congressional Quarterly in 2013 Begich voted with President Obama 97% of the time.[48]
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 has not been passed into law.[49][50]
Representative Don Young (R–AK) praised Begich for doing a "great job" representing Alaska.[51]
Begich sponsored 164 bills of his own, including:[52]
Begich is pro-choice and opposes restrictions on late-term abortions.[53] He has received a 100% rating from the pro-choice organization NARAL and a 0% rating from the anti-abortion organization NRLC.[54][55][56][57]
Begich stated that he had concerns but would defend Ballot Measure 2 (Alaska Marijuana Legalization).[58]
Begich stated that he generally opposes the death penalty.[59]
Begich wants to repeal the Patriot Act and opposes "allowing the government to conduct surveillance wiretaps without warrants."[59]
In 2008, Begich supported the creation of a national cap-and-trade system for controlling greenhouse gas emissions.[60] In 2010, he signed a letter advocating the establishment of a 'price' for greenhouse gas emissions as part of national energy policy. Begich has stated that this should not be interpreted as support for a carbon tax.[61]
Begich supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.[62][63][64]
Begich believes that human activity is a major factor contributing to climate change.[58]
In 2014, Begich had a 79% (A−) rating with the NRA Political Victory Fund.[65][66]
Begich voted in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (most commonly known as Obamacare) when the bill first passed Congress.[67] Begich has not said whether or not he would vote for the bill again.[68]
Begich is a supporter of Israel and is part of the advisory committee of the pro-Israel group American Israel Public Affairs Committee.[69]
Begich supports raising the minimum wage and extending unemployment benefits beyond 26 weeks.[58]
Begich supports same-sex marriage.[70]
On April 28, 2014, Begich introduced the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2014 (S. 2258; 113th Congress), a bill that would, beginning on December 1, 2014, increase the rates of veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children.[71][72]
Begich is married to Deborah Bonito, a former chair of the Alaska Democratic Party and the owner of several small businesses throughout Anchorage. They have a son, Jacob.[73] Begich is a Roman Catholic.[74]
During his term in the Senate, Begich was the only U.S. Senator without a college degree.[12][73] He has taken continuing education classes at the University of Alaska Anchorage.[75] His brother Nick Jr. has researched and written about the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) program as an instrument of weather modification and allegedly mind control.[76] His nephew, Nick III, made the primary runoff (along with former governor Sarah Palin and former state Representative Mary Peltola) for the Congressional seat that became vacant in 2022 as a result of the death of Don Young.[77] Mark's brother Tom Begich was elected as a state senator from Anchorage in 2016 but declined to file for reelection in 2022.
Begich currently serves as a lobbyist with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.[78][79]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Mark Begich | 2,264 | 35.0 | |
Nonpartisan | Steven Fowler | 1,914 | 29.5 | |
Nonpartisan | Dave Harbour | 1,171 | 18.0 | |
Nonpartisan | Liz Vazquez | 586 | 9.0 | |
Nonpartisan | Dorothy Cox | 293 | 4.5 | |
Nonpartisan | Walt Wood | 129 | 1.9 | |
Nonpartisan | Mike L. Heggenberger | 44 | 0.6 | |
Nonpartisan | Nick Rodes | 42 | 0.6 | |
Write-in | Write-in | 26 | 0.4 | |
Total votes | 6,469 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Mark Begich (incumbent) | 5,216 | 55.06 | |
Nonpartisan | Eddie Burke | 4,170 | 44.02 | |
Write-in | Write-in | 88 | 0.93 | |
Total votes | 9,474 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Mark Begich (incumbent) | 4,657 | 51.06 | |
Nonpartisan | Steven R. Fowler | 3,735 | 40.95 | |
Nonpartisan | Edward Robbins | 470 | 5.15 | |
Write-in | Write-in | 118 | 1.29 | |
Total votes | 8,980 |
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Rick Mystrom | 15,049 | 21.78 | |
Mark Begich | 13,533 | 19.58 | |
Craig Campbell | 12,018 | 17.39 | |
Jim Kubitz | 7,594 | 10.99 | |
Heather Flynn | 6,896 | 9.98 | |
Dr. Joyce Murphy | 6,181 | 8.94 | |
Virginia Collins | 4,260 | 6.16 | |
Pat Parnell | 2,314 | 3.35 | |
Mike John O'Callaghan | 547 | 0.79 | |
Richard "Ziggy" Ziegler | 271 | 0.39 | |
Michael J. P. DeFermo | 134 | 0.19 | |
Tom Staudenmaier | 107 | 0.15 | |
Matthew P. Gill | 62 | 0.09 | |
Charles E. McKee | 58 | 0.08 | |
Write-ins | 84 | 0.12 | |
Total votes | 69,108 | ||
Voter turnout | 49.52% |
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Rick Mystrom | 29,546 | 58.40 | |
Mark Begich | 21,046 | 41.60 | |
Total votes | 50,592 |
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Mark Begich | 24,920 | 40.26 | |
George Wuerch | 12,681 | 20.49 | |
Jack Frost | 11,396 | 18.41 | |
Bob Bell | 6,034 | 9.75 | |
Dave Donely | 2,744 | 4.43 | |
Pete Kott | 2,289 | 3.70 | |
Theresa Nangle Obermeyer, Phd | 1,178 | 1.90 | |
John Kehr, Jr. | 90 | 0.15 | |
Race G. Jones | 74 | 0.12 | |
Write-ins | 91 | 0.15 | |
Total votes | 61,497 | ||
Voter turnout | 30.94% |
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
George Wuerch | 32,167 | 52.49 | |
Mark Begich | 20,116 | 47.51 | |
Total votes | 69,025 | ||
Voter turnout | 35.63% |
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Mark Begich | 28,604 | 45.03 | |
George Wuerch (incumbent) | 23,615 | 37.17 | |
Richard Mystrom | 9,954 | 15.67 | |
David Dunsmore | 488 | 0.77 | |
Jennifer Citti | 195 | 0.31 | |
Thomas Mark Higgins | 144 | 0.23 | |
Richard Zeigler | 135 | 0.21 | |
Tom Layne | 103 | 0.16 | |
Daniel DeNardo | 97 | 0.15 | |
Ray Malcolm | 61 | 0.1 | |
Bruce J. Lemke | 49 | 0.08 | |
Write-in | 79 | 0.12 | |
Total votes | 63,524 | ||
Voter turnout | 34.45% |
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Mark Begich (incumbent) | 39,468 | 55.95 | |
Jack Frost | 28,760 | 40.77 | |
Nick Moe | 1,747 | 2.48 | |
Thomas Mark Higgins | 431 | 431 | |
Write-in | 135 | 0.19 | |
Total votes | 70,541 | ||
Voter turnout | 35.02% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mark Begich | 63,747 | 90.82 | ||
Democratic | Ray Metcalfe | 5,480 | 7.81 | ||
Democratic | Frank Vondersaar | 965 | 1.37 | ||
Turnout | 70,192 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mark Begich | 151,767 | 47.77 | +37.26 | |
Republican | Ted Stevens (inc.) | 147,814 | 46.52 | −31.65 | |
Independence | Bob Bird | 13,197 | 4.15 | +1.22 | |
Libertarian | David Haase | 2,483 | 0.78 | −0.25 | |
Independent | Ted Gianoutsos | 1,385 | 0.44 | ||
Write-In | 1,077 | 0.34 | +0.21 | ||
Majority | 3,953 | 1.24 | −66.41 | ||
Turnout | 317,723 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mark Begich (inc.) | 58,092 | 96.63 | ||
Democratic | William Bryk | 2,024 | 3.37 | ||
Turnout | 60,116 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Dan Sullivan | 135,445 | 47.96 | +1.46 | |
Democratic | Mark Begich (inc.) | 129,431 | 45.83 | −1.94 | |
Libertarian | Mark Fish | 10,512 | 3.72 | +1.94 | |
Independent | Ted Gianoutsos | 5,636 | 2 | +1.56 | |
Write-ins | Others | 1,376 | 0.49 | +0.15 | |
Plurality | 6,014 | 2.13 | |||
Turnout | 282,400 | 55.48 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mark Begich | 29,806 | 85.15 | ||
Libertarian | William S. Toien | 5,197 | 14.85 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Mike Dunleavy and Kevin Meyer | 145,631 | 51.44% | +5.56% | |
Democratic | Mark Begich and Debra Call | 125,739 | 44.41% | N/A | |
Independent | Bill Walker (inc.) and Valerie Davidson (inc.) withdrawn | 5,757 | 2.03% | −46.07% | |
Libertarian | William Toien and Carolyn Clift | 5,402 | 1.91% | −1.30% | |
Write-in | Write-ins | 605 | 0.21% | −0.11% | |
Total votes | 283,134 | 100.0% | N/A |
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