Mark Begich

Mark Begich
Official portrait, 2012
Chair of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee
In office
January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2015
LeaderHarry Reid
Preceded byDebbie Stabenow
Succeeded byAmy Klobuchar
United States Senator
from Alaska
In office
January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2015
Preceded byTed Stevens
Succeeded byDan Sullivan
34th Mayor of Anchorage
In office
July 1, 2003 – January 3, 2009
Preceded byGeorge Wuerch
Succeeded byDan A. Sullivan
Chair of the Anchorage Assembly
In office
April 30, 1996 – May 5, 1998
Preceded byCraig Campbell
Succeeded byFay Von Gemmingen
In office
May 4, 1993 – December 7, 1993
Preceded byJames Barnett
Succeeded byDick Traini
Member of the Anchorage Assembly
from Seat H
In office
October 4, 1988 – April 21, 1998
Preceded byBrad Bradley
Succeeded byMelinda Taylor
Personal details
Born
Mark Peter Begich

(1962-03-30) March 30, 1962 (age 62)
Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Deborah Bonito
(m. 1990)
ChildrenJacob Begich
Parent
RelativesTom Begich (brother)
Joseph Begich (uncle)
Residence(s)Anchorage, Alaska

Mark Peter Begich[1] (/ˈbɛɡɪ/ BEGG-itch; born March 30, 1962) is an American politician 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.

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]

  1. ^ Atwood, Evangeline; DeArmond, Robert N. (1977). Who's Who in Alaskan Politics. Portland: Binford & Mort for the Alaska Historical Commission. p. 6.
  2. ^ "Ted Stevens, Longest-Serving GOP Senator, Dead". CBS Interactive. August 10, 2010. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  3. ^ Bohrer, Becky. Republican Dan Sullivan wins Senate race in Alaska Archived 2014-11-12 at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press, November 12, 2014.
  4. ^ 2014 General Election – Unofficial Results Archived 2014-11-12 at the Wayback Machine, Alaska Department of Elections, November 4, 2014.
  5. ^ Mark Begich concedes to Dan Sullivan Archived 2014-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Politico Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  6. ^ Democrat Begich concedes to Republican Sullivan in Alaska race Archived 2014-11-21 at the Wayback Machine, Fox News, Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  7. ^ "Governor Election Results 2018". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2018-11-30.

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