U.S. House of Representatives
Elections 2022 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. The election was a 3-way race of Begich, former Republican
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Democratic former
state Representative Mary Peltola. 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. Peltola's victory was widely seen as an upset in a
traditionally Republican state. The results were praised by many
pundits and activists. By contrast, some scholars criticized the instant-runoff procedure for its
pathological behavior, 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. However, Palin
spoiled the election by splitting the first-round vote, leading to Begich's elimination and costing Republicans the seat.
2022 regular election The regular 2022 Alaska's at-large U.S. House election was held on November 8. The four candidates were incumbent Peltola, Palin, Begich, and
Libertarian Chris Bye. 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.
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.
2024 regular election during his 2024 congressional run 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, 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. The four candidates were Begich, Peltola,
Alaskan Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe, and Democrat
Eric Hafner. On November 20, it was announced that Begich defeated Peltola. 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.
Tenure Begich was sworn into the U.S. House on January 3, 2025. Later that month, the U.S. House passed two of Begich's bills. The bills, which restored land rights to Alaska Native village corporations and made it easier for disabled Alaska Natives to qualify for federal aid programs, passed nearly unanimously with bipartisan support. Begich became the first freshman member of the
119th United States Congress to have a bill passed. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law in July 2025, Begich achieved mandated oil and gas lease sales in the Coastal Plain area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, and Cook-Inlet, while also increasing Alaska's share of federal oil leasing revenues from the OBBBA mandated leases in Alaska from 50% to 70% starting in 2035.
Committee assignments •
Committee on Natural Resources •
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources (Vice Chair) •
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations •
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure •
Subcommittee on Aviation •
Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation •
Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials (Vice Chair) •
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology •
Subcommittee on Energy •
Subcommittee on Environment •
Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight Caucus memberships • Croatian Caucus • DOGE Caucus • AI Caucus • Ferry Caucus •
Freedom Caucus • Greenland Caucus • Golden Dome Caucus • Native American Caucus - Republican Vice Chair • Pacific Islands Caucus •
Republican Study Committee •
Congressional Western Caucus - Executive Vice Chair ==Personal life==