Alaska Rep. Nick Begich III, a Republican, began his congressional career on Jan. 3. He represents Alaska’s only congressional district, having defeated former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) in the Nov. 5 election.
While Begich has always been a Republican, his relatives who served in public office were Democrats. Interestingly, he did not know until middle school that his grandfather was a member of Congress.
Begich’s grandfather, Nick Begich Sr., represented the district his grandson now represents between. He served from January 1971 until December 1972, then went missing in a plane crash and was presumed dead.
Begich’s uncle, Mark Begich, served in the U.S. Senate between 2009 and 2015 after holding multiple political offices in Alaska. Another uncle, Tom Begich, was minority leader of the Alaska Senate between 2019 and 2023.
He said his mother’s side of the family leans more toward traditional Christian conservatism.
“I don’t know that I’m quite the black sheep in the family,” he said. “But I certainly see things from a different perspective than many on my father’s side.”
Begich said he believes in small government and that there has been fiscal irresponsibility at the federal level.
“Oftentimes we hear from the left that government spending is compassionate, that we need to do all these programs,” he said. “But the truth of the matter is those programs end up hurting people that they claim to help even more.”
Begich was born on Oct. 21, 1977, in Anchorage, Alaska, to Nicholas Joseph Begich Jr. and Starr Lyn Weed.
His parents divorced when he was young, and he lived with his mother in Florida, where he attended middle school and high school.
Begich then attended Baylor University in Texas followed by working in an investor relations role for a publicly-traded company.
Education was key in his life as it led to him marrying his wife, Dharna Vakharia.
Begich’s future father-in-law said he could not marry his daughter unless he got a master’s degree, which he did at Indiana University, with a concentration in information technologies and decision sciences.
Vakharia’s family, according to Begich, “is very big on education” as they are first-generation Americans.
“They have a strong belief, and I have the same belief, that education is an important gateway to success in life,” he said. He said his father-in-law “wanted to make sure that anyone in his family was going to have those same values.”
Begich worked at Ford Motor Company in Michigan, but he and his wife moved to Alaska in 2004 due to what he said were “a number of entrepreneurial opportunities.”
Working outside the public sector, said Begich, is a reminder that “the lion’s share of the value that we have experienced in modern society was created not by government, but by private-sector innovation.”
After all, said Begich, government can both help and hurt private-sector innovation, “but it can’t create it.” Ensuring America fosters an entrepreneurial spirit was one of the reasons Begich ran for office.
In 2022, Begich ran for Alaska’s congressional seat, but came up short in ranked-choice voting.
He said that in the 2024 cycle, if there was a Republican that finished ahead of him in the primary, he would drop out.
“We were able to consolidate support prior to the general election, and I think that was a significant contributing factor to being able to flip this seat,” he said.
Congressional Agenda
In Congress, Begich said, his mission is about letting “people know what Alaska can do for them and why it’s important for them.”While he acknowledged that building some name recognition helps spread the word about his home state, “this is about Alaska First.”
Begich’s congressional agenda includes looking to rein in the federal budget and restoring supply chains surrounding energy, critical minerals, timber, and precious metals.
Alaska having an abundance of natural resources, he said, allows for the United States to decouple from China and other adversaries.
One of the biggest debates in Congress currently is whether Republicans should do one or two reconciliation bills to pass President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda. Reconciliation allows for bills related to taxing, spending, and the national debt to be passed without being subjected to the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate.
The GOP is looking to pass, through reconciliation, Trump’s energy and border agenda, in addition to extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts as the income tax brackets under it are set to expire after this year.
Trump has said he prefers one big reconciliation bill but does not mind if there are two as long as his agenda gets through Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has said he wants one bill, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has called for two bills.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has laid the groundwork for a reconciliation bill that would include border security, such as funding the southern border wall, and increase defense spending.
Begich predicted there will be two bills.
“I think we need to put as much in the first bill as possible,” he said.
“I’m someone who believes that we should be doing as much on the front end as possible so that we can get these wins for the American people early, and then when we have the second budget reconciliation window, let’s take that list of priorities that didn’t make the first cut and pursue those in the second window,” he continued.
What should be in which reconciliation bill is to be determined, said Begich, but when it comes to Alaska, there needs to be revenue opportunities such as opening up timber lease sales.
Long Commute
Representing a state on the other side of the country is no easy task.Whereas most members of Congress fly in and out of Washington each week Congress is in session, for Begich, it is complicated.
Begich said that it takes some 15 hours to get to Alaska from Washington.
“I often have to remind people, Alaska is the only state that you have to fly through another country to get to,” he said, referring to Canada.
“So it is very far, but I will be getting back as often as I can,” he continued. “And even on the short weekends, if there’s a reason that I need to be back in state, I will make that trip.”
Son Following in Dad’s Footsteps?
Peltola in 2022 succeeded former Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who for 49 years sat in the seat Begich occupies.But Begich does not expect to be serving for that long. He did not say how long he would like to be in Congress, but he emphasized the importance of “new ideas and fresh perspectives.”
“I think it’s important for us to make sure that the members of Congress are reflective of the people that they represent,” he said.
“We need to make sure that new ideas and fresh perspectives are able to enter the dialogue,” he added.
Begich could even run for Senate if Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who has been in the upper chamber since 2002, decides not to run for re-election in 2028.
“That’s perhaps a conversation that would be more appropriate as we get closer to that time,” he said. “Like any of those discussions, you got to see what’s the dynamic, what’s the appetite, who else is considering a run.
“We'll see.”
Nonetheless, the Begich legacy could live on.
Begich’s son turned 13 years old during the House GOP issues conference, which was Jan. 27 to 29, and he was able to meet Vice President JD Vance, who asked him if his name is “Nick Jr.,” his father recalled.
“Well, I’m Nick the Fourth,” said the younger Begich.
“Are you the best Nick?” asked Vance.
“I’m going to try to be,” said Begich IV.
