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Nick Begich III

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Nick Begich
A 44 year-old Nick Begich III smiling at the camera.
Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Alaska's at-large district
Assuming office
January 3, 2025
SucceedingMary Peltola
Personal details
Born
Nicholas Joseph Begich III

(1977-10-21) October 21, 1977 (age 47)
Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDharna Vakharia (m. 2002)
Children1
Relatives
EducationBaylor University (BBA)
Indiana University, Bloomington (MBA)
WebsiteCampaign website

Nicholas Joseph Begich III[1] (born October 21, 1977) is an American businessman and politician who is the U.S. Representative-elect for Alaska's at-large congressional district. He won the seat in the 2024 election, in which he defeated Democratic incumbent Mary Peltola. Begich had previously run unsuccessfully for the seat in the 2022 special and regular elections, both of which Peltola won.

Although the Begich family has a longstanding affiliation with the Democratic Party, he is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and family

[edit]
See also: Begich family

Begich was born on October, 21 1977 in Anchorage, Alaska to Nick Begich Jr., an author and business owner, and Starr Lyn Weed (née Baker).[2][3][4] [5][6] [7] He is a member of the political Begich family who have been affiliated with the Democratic Party, although he is a Republican. He is the paternal grandson of Nick Begich Sr., who served as a U.S. Representative for Alaska from 1971 until his disappearance in a plane crash in 1972.[3] Begich Sr. had three notable sons: Nick Begich Jr., Mark Begich, and Tom Begich.[3] Mark Begich served as a U.S. Senator from Alaska; Tom Begich served as the Minority Leader of the Alaska Senate.[3]

According to Begich, his mother's family were very Republican and his father is a Libertarian Party member.[8] Begich said he has been a registered Republican since age 21.[8]

Begich attended and graduated from a Florida high school, having moved to Florida with his maternal grandparents after his parents divorced.[8] He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University, Texas.[9][10] Afterwards, he received a Master of Business Administration from Indiana University Bloomington.[8]

Career

[edit]

After graduating, he founded FarShore Partners, a software development company which is mostly based in India.[8] In 2016, it had 160 employees internationally.[8] Begich has been business partners with Rick Desai since 2009.[8] As of 2021, he served as the company's executive chairman.[3]

Political career

[edit]

In 2016, he ran for Seat A in District 2 (Chugiak/Eagle River) of the Anchorage City Council against Republican incumbent Amy Demboski.[8][11][12] Begich lost, receiving 42 percent of the vote to Demboski's 58 percent.[11]

He has served as a board member of Alaska Policy Forum, a conservative think tank. He was the co-chair of the Alaska Republican Party's Finance Committee.[9] He served as a co-chair on Don Young's 2020 re-election campaign for the U.S. House.[9]

2022 special election

[edit]
Main article: 2022 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election

In October 2021, he announced his campaign to run for the Alaska's at-large U.S. House seat against incumbent Republican Don Young, who held the seat since 1972.[3] Young died in March 2022 which led to a special election scheduled for August 16, 2022.[13] The election was a 3-way race of Begich, former Republican Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Democratic former state Representative Mary Peltola.[14]

The election was the first to use Alaska's new ranked-choice voting (RCV) method, approved by voters in 2020. The winners of the top-four blanket primary advanced to the ranked-choice runoff election, but only three candidates competed (as Al Gross withdrew and endorsed Peltola). Peltola was declared the winner on August 31 after all ballots were counted.[15][16][17] Peltola's victory was widely seen as an upset in a traditionally Republican state.[18]

The results were praised by many pundits and activists.[19] By contrast, some scholars criticized the instant-runoff procedure for its pathological behavior,[20][21] the result of a center squeeze.[21][22][23] Although Peltola received a plurality of first choice votes and won in the final round, a majority of voters ranked her last or left her off their ballot entirely.[21] Begich was eliminated in the first round, despite being preferred by a majority to each one of his opponents, with 53 percent of voters ranking him above Peltola.[21][24][25] However, Palin spoiled the election by splitting the first-round vote, leading to Begich's elimination and costing Republicans the seat.[21][26]

2022 regular election

[edit]
Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska

The regular 2022 Alaska's at-large U.S. House election was held on November 8.[27] The four candidates were incumbent Peltola, Palin, Begich, and Libertarian Chris Bye.[28][29] Under the rules of instant-runoff, Bye and Begich were eliminated in the first and second rounds, after they received the fewest votes. These votes were then transferred to either Peltola or Palin, depending on who the voter ranked higher on their ballot. Peltola won with 55 percent of the vote, increasing her margin from the special election.[30]

Social choice theorists commenting on the race noted that unlike the previous special election, the general election involved few election pathologies. Peltola won the election as the majority-preferred (Condorcet) candidate, with ballots indicating support from a majority of voters.[31]

2024 regular election

[edit]
Main article: 2024 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska

The regular 2024 Alaska's at-large U.S. House election was held on November 5. The election coincided with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the U.S. House, elections to the United States Senate, and various other state and local elections.

The primary election was held on August 20, 2024,[32] with candidates Mary Peltola, Nick Begich, and Republican Nancy Dahlstrom emerging as the main candidates. After placing third, Dahlstrom withdrew from the race to avoid another result like 2022 to ensure there was no center squeeze or spoiler effect, resulting in a traditional two-party race with two clear frontrunners.[33][34][35] The four candidates were Begich, Peltola, Alaskan Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe, and Democrat Eric Hafner.[36]

On November 20, it was announced that Begich defeated Peltola.[37] In the first round, he achieved 48.42% of the vote against her 46.36%. After other candidates were eliminated, the final round resulted in Begich receiving 51.3% of the vote against Peltola's 48.7%, making him the winner.[36][38]

Personal life

[edit]

He lives in Chugiak, Anchorage, Alaska. Begich and his wife, Dharna, have one son.[3][8][39]

Electoral history

[edit]
2016 Municipality of Anchorage Assembly election, Seat A in District 2 (Chugiak/Eagle River)[40]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Amy Demboski (incumbent) 4,414 57.72%
Republican Nick Begich 3,188 41.69%
Write-in 45 0.59%
Total votes 7,647 100.0%
Republican hold

U.S. House elections

[edit]
2022 Alaska's at-large congressional district special primary election results[41]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Sarah Palin 43,601 27.01
Republican Nick Begich 30,861 19.12
Independent Al Gross[a] 20,392 12.63
Democratic Mary Peltola 16,265 10.08
Republican Tara Sweeney 9,560 5.92
Independent Santa Claus 7,625 4.72
Democratic Christopher Constant 6,224 3.86
Independent Jeff Lowenfels 5,994 3.71
Republican John Coghill 3,842 2.38
Republican Josh Revak 3,785 2.34
Independent Andrew Halcro 3,013 1.87
Democratic Adam Wool 2,730 1.69
Democratic Emil Notti 1,777 1.10
Libertarian Chris Bye 1,049 0.65
Democratic Mike Milligan 608 0.38
Independence John Howe 380 0.24
Independent Laurel Foster 338 0.21
Republican Stephen Wright 332 0.21
Republican Jay Armstrong 286 0.18
Libertarian J. R. Myers 285 0.18
Independent Gregg Brelsford 284 0.18
Democratic Ernest Thomas 199 0.12
Republican Bob Lyons 197 0.12
Republican Otto Florschutz 193 0.12
Republican Maxwell Sumner 133 0.08
Republican Clayton Trotter 121 0.07
Independent Anne McCabe 118 0.07
Republican John Callahan 114 0.07
Independent Arlene Carle 107 0.07
Independent Tim Beck 96 0.06
Independent Sherry Mettler 92 0.06
Republican Tom Gibbons 94 0.06
Independent Lady Donna Dutchess 87 0.05
American Independent Robert Ornelas 83 0.05
Independent Ted Heintz 70 0.04
Independent Silvio Pellegrini 70 0.04
Independent Karyn Griffin 67 0.04
Independent David Hughes 54 0.03
Independent Don Knight 46 0.03
Republican Jo Woodward 44 0.03
Independent Jason Williams 37 0.02
Independent Robert Brown 36 0.02
Independent Dennis Aguayo 31 0.02
Independent William Hibler III 25 0.02
Republican Bradley Welter 24 0.01
Independent David Thistle 23 0.01
Independent Brian Beal 19 0.01
Republican Mikel Melander 17 0.01
Total votes 161,428 100.0
2022 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election[42][43]
Party Candidate Round 1 Round 2
Votes % Transfer Votes %
Democratic Mary Peltola 74,817 39.66% +15,467 91,266 51.48%
Republican Sarah Palin 58,339 30.92% +27,053 86,026 48.52%
Republican Nick Begich 52,536 27.85% -52,536 Eliminated
Write-in 2,974 1.58% -2,974 Eliminated
Total votes 188,666 100.00% 177,423 94.04%
Inactive ballots 0 0.00% +11,243 11,243 5.96%
Democratic gain from Republican
2022 Alaska U.S. House of Representatives primary election results[44][45]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mary Peltola 70,295 36.80
Republican Sarah Palin 57,693 30.20
Republican Nick Begich 50,021 26.19
Republican Tara Sweeney (withdrew) 7,195 3.77
Libertarian Chris Bye[b] 1,189 0.62
Libertarian J. R. Myers 531 0.28
Republican Bob Lyons 447 0.23
Republican Jay Armstrong 403 0.21
Republican Brad Snowden 355 0.19
Republican Randy Purham 311 0.16
Independent Lady Donna Dutchess 270 0.14
Independent Sherry Strizak 252 0.13
American Independent Robert Ornelas 248 0.13
Republican Denise Williams 242 0.13
Independent Gregg Brelsford 241 0.13
Independent David Hughes 238 0.12
Independent Andrew Phelps 222 0.12
Independent Tremayne Wilson 194 0.10
Independent Sherry Mettler 191 0.10
Independent Silvio Pellegrini 187 0.10
Independent Ted Heintz 173 0.09
Independent Davis LeBlanc 117 0.06
Total votes 191,015 100.00
2022 Alaska's at-large congressional district election[46]
Party Candidate Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes %
Democratic Mary Peltola (incumbent) 128,329 48.68% +1,038 129,433 49.20% +7,460 136,893 54.94%
Republican Sarah Palin 67,732 25.74% +1,064 69,242 26.32% +43,013 112,255 45.06%
Republican Nick Begich 61,431 23.34% +1,988 64,392 24.48% -64,392 Eliminated
Libertarian Chris Bye 4,560 1.73% -4,560 Eliminated
Write-in 1,096 0.42% -1,096 Eliminated
Total votes 263,148 100.00% 263,067 100.00% 249,148 100.00%
Inactive ballots 2,193 0.83% +906 3,097 1.16% +14,765 17,016 5.55%
Democratic hold

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Rep. Nick Begich - R Alaska, at-large - Biography". LegiStorm. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  2. ^ Ruedrich, Randy (April 14, 2024). "Randy Ruedrich: Alaska must elect the most qualified candidate for Congress. What does that mean?". Must Read Alaska. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Brooks, James (October 22, 2021). "Nick Begich, Republican son of Alaska's leading Democratic family, will run for U.S. House". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  4. ^ "Nick Begich For Alaska". Nick for Alaska. Retrieved November 15, 2024. Born in Anchorage and raised by his maternal grandparents...
  5. ^ Brooks, James (October 15, 2024). "On U.S. House candidate's disclosure form, successful investments and a conspiratorial publisher". Alaska Beacon. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  6. ^ Ruskin, Liz (October 10, 2024). "That ad claiming Begich 'sold phony medical devices'? Here's the backstory". Alaska Public Media. Archived from the original on November 9, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  7. ^ "Jun 20, 2002, page J10 - The Orlando Sentinel at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kelly, Devin (March 18, 2016). "In Chugiak-Eagle River Assembly race, big names compete for recognition". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Nzanga, Merdie. "Who is Nick Begich, one of the top three candidates running for Alaska's only House seat?". USA Today. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  10. ^ "Begich, Nick_US Rep_Eng_06.24.24-PWeb.pdf" (PDF). June 24, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Hillman, Anne (April 6, 2016). "Liberals get edge in Anchorage elections, massive school bond fails". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  12. ^ Kelly, Devin (March 6, 2015). "Amy Demboski: The 'little R' in the mayor's race". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  13. ^ Ruskin, Liz (March 19, 2022). "Alaska Congressman Don Young has died". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  14. ^ Rockey, Tim (September 2022). "Peltola to become first Alaska Native, first female Alaska congresswoman". Alaskasnewssource.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  15. ^ Brooks, James (March 19, 2022). "Alaska's first ranked-choice election will be a special vote to replace Rep. Don Young". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  16. ^ Iris Samuels. "Peltola again grows her lead, but final outcome in Alaska's U.S. House race is days away". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  17. ^ "Democrat Mary Peltola wins special election to fill Alaska's U.S. House seat". Reuters. September 1, 2022. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  18. ^ Rakich, Nathaniel (September 1, 2022). "What Democrats' Win In Alaska Tells Us About November". FiveThirtyEight. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  19. ^ Otis, Deb (August 31, 2022). "Results and analysis from Alaska's first RCV election". FairVote.
  20. ^ Maskin, Eric; Foley, Edward B. (November 1, 2022). "Opinion: Alaska's ranked-choice voting is flawed. But there's an easy fix". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  21. ^ a b c d e Graham-Squire, Adam; McCune, David (September 11, 2022). "A Mathematical Analysis of the 2022 Alaska Special Election for US House". p. 2. arXiv:2209.04764v3 [econ.GN]. Since Begich wins both … he is the Condorcet winner of the election … AK election also contains a Condorcet loser: Sarah Palin. … she is also a spoiler candidate
  22. ^ Clelland, Jeanne N. (February 28, 2023). "Ranked Choice Voting And the Center Squeeze in the Alaska 2022 Special Election: How Might Other Voting Methods Compare?". p. 6. arXiv:2303.00108v1 [cs.CY].
  23. ^ Atkinson, Nathan; Ganz, Scott C. (October 30, 2022). "The flaw in ranked-choice voting: rewarding extremists". The Hill. Retrieved May 14, 2023. However, ranked-choice voting makes it more difficult to elect moderate candidates when the electorate is polarized. For example, in a three-person race, the moderate candidate may be preferred by a majority of voters to each of the more extreme candidates. However, voters with far-left and far-right views will rank the candidate in second place rather than in first place. Since ranked-choice voting counts only the number of first-choice votes (among the remaining candidates), the moderate candidate would be eliminated in the first round, leaving one of the extreme candidates to be declared the winner.
  24. ^ Atkinson, Nathan; Ganz, Scott C. (October 30, 2022). "The flaw in ranked-choice voting: rewarding extremists". The Hill. Retrieved May 14, 2023. However, ranked-choice voting makes it more difficult to elect moderate candidates when the electorate is polarized. For example, in a three-person race, the moderate candidate may be preferred to each of the more extreme candidates by a majority of voters. However, voters with far-left and far-right views will rank the candidate in second place rather than in first place. Since ranked-choice voting counts only the number of first-choice votes (among the remaining candidates), the moderate candidate would be eliminated in the first round, leaving one of the extreme candidates to be declared the winner.
  25. ^ Clelland, Jeanne N. (February 28, 2023). "Ranked Choice Voting And the Center Squeeze in the Alaska 2022 Special Election: How Might Other Voting Methods Compare?". p. 6. arXiv:2303.00108v1 [cs.CY].
  26. ^ Graham-Squire, Adam; McCune, David (January 2, 2024). "Ranked Choice Wackiness in Alaska". Math Horizons. 31 (1): 24–27. doi:10.1080/10724117.2023.2224675. ISSN 1072-4117.
  27. ^ Bradner, Eric (November 23, 2022). "CNN projects Rep. Mary Peltola will win race for Alaska House seat, thwarting Sarah Palin's political comeback again | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  28. ^ Ruskin, Liz (August 23, 2022). "Tara Sweeney ends campaign for U.S. House, opening spot for Libertarian on November ballot". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved September 6, 2022. 'If a candidate who advances out of the primary withdraws 64 or more days before the general election, the fifth place candidate will advance instead,' a Division of Elections spokeswoman said by email.
  29. ^ Media, Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO and Alaska Public (November 18, 2020). "Alaska will have a new election system: Voters pass Ballot Measure 2". KTOO. Retrieved November 18, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ Cochrane, Emily (November 24, 2022). "Mary Peltola Wins Bid to Serve Full Term in the House for Alaska". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  31. ^ Clelland, Jeanne N. (April 11, 2024). "Ranked Choice Voting And Condorcet Failure in the Alaska 2022 Special Election: How Might Other Voting Systems Compare?". arXiv:2303.00108 [cs.CY].
  32. ^ "2024 Presidential Election Calendar - 270toWin". 270toWin.com. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  33. ^ Drutman, Lee (September 12, 2024). "We need more (and better) parties". Undercurrent Events. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  34. ^ Strassel, Kimberly A. (August 27, 2024). "Ranked Choice May Die in Alaska". The Wall Street Journal.
  35. ^ Early, Wesley (September 5, 2024). "Why candidates are withdrawing from Alaska's general election". Alaska Public Media. Anchorage, Alaska-US: NPR. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  36. ^ a b "Alaska At-Large Congressional District Election Results". The New York Times. November 5, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  37. ^ Media, Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public (November 21, 2024). "The results are in: Nick Begich III has won Alaska's U.S. House race". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved November 21, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  38. ^ "State of Alaska, 2024 GENERAL ELECTION, Election Summary Report, November 5, 2024, UNOFFICIAL RESULTS" (PDF).
  39. ^ KCAW Staff (August 20, 2024). "Unhappy with 'caustic' politics, House candidate Begich seeks a return to normalcy". KCAW. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  40. ^ "Election Summary Report; Regular Municipal Election; Summary For Jurisdiction Wide, All Counters, All Races; Regular Municipal Election; Official Results" (PDF). Municipality of Anchorage. April 5, 2016. p. 1. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  41. ^ "2022 SPECIAL PRIMARY ELECTION OFFICIAL RESULTS" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. June 24, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  42. ^ "State of Alaska 2022 Special General Election Summary Report" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. August 31, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 3, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  43. ^ "State of Alaska 2022 Special General Election RCV Tabulation" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. September 2, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 3, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  44. ^ "2022 Primary Candidate List". Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  45. ^ "August 16, 2022 Primary Election Summary Report - OFFICIAL RESULTS" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  46. ^ "RCV Detailed Report | General Election | State of Alaska" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. November 23, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.

Notes

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  1. ^ Withdrew from the general election following his victory in the primary
  2. ^ Chris Bye placed fifth in the nonpartisan primary. However, the fourth-place finisher — Tara Sweeney — withdrew, placing Bye in the general election.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nick Begich III.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alaska's at-large congressional district
Taking office 2025 		Elect
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