Former state Sen. Tom Begich of Anchorage on Monday became the first Democrat to file a letter saying he intends to run for Alaska governor in the 2026 election, joining a field already crowded with eight Republicans.
“I felt Alaska’s sort of stagnated over the last few years — hasn’t moved forward,” he said. “And partially that’s because there’s a lack of communication between the Legislature and the governor, the governor and the Legislature. That leads to a breakdown in decision making.”
Begich said that’s affected a lack of progress on resolving differences over education policy and funding, and on a long-term plan for the state budget.
Begich said he would visit communities across Alaska, listening to residents, to shape his plan for the state.
“I already have ideas, but I want to hear what their ideas are, because together, you can actually build a comprehensive roadmap that gets you to a sustainable future,” he said. “You can’t do it by imposing that on people.”
Begich served in the state Senate for six years, from 2017 to 2023, including serving as the minority caucus leader for the last four.
Begich said that his legislative track record shows he can cross the state’s political divides. He pointed to his relationships with several Republican leaders, including former Senate Presidents Cathy Giessel of Anchorage and Peter Micciche of Soldotna, Rep. Cathy Tilton of Wasilla and Gov. Mike Dunleavy, which led to policy compromises. In the case of Dunleavy, a major compromise was the 2022 Alaska Reads Act, aimed at increasing early literacy.
“It takes the ability to recognize — sometimes you’re going to disagree about, maybe, how you get to an issue, but you need to look for, what is the fundamental thing you care most about,” and aim to reach common ground on that, Begich said.
While Begich gives credit to Dunleavy for his work on the Reads Act, he said his own record includes making progress on a wider range of issues, including funding for food banks and housing to improve public health.
While no Democrat has been elected governor since Tony Knowles reelection in 1998, Begich said recent results — including former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola’s victories in 2022, indicate that Alaska is a “purple” state and no longer the solidly Republican state of previous decades.
Begich said the state’s ranked choice voting system could benefit a candidate who can appeal to a wide range of voters.
“I think the environment is right as well, because in Alaska, we recognize pragmatism over politics — and party politics in particular,” Begich said. “I believe we do, and I think that I represent that.”
The eight Republicans in the field for governor are former state Sen. Click Bishop of Fairbanks; former state Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum of Wasilla; Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom of Eagle River; Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Edna DeVries; podiatrist Matt Heilala of Anchorage; former teacher James Parkin of Angoon; and business owner Bernadette Wilson of Anchorage.
Begich said that regardless of the outcome, it’s important to articulate a different vision, “instead of, you know, bickering about issues that have no daily impact on whether or not you can afford to buy groceries, or whether or not your energy costs are too high, or whether or not your education is sufficient. Those are the issues that matter.”
Begich owns a consulting business, CW Communications, shorthand for “Crazy World.” Through consulting, he’s worked on strategic planning and issues related to juvenile justice. The work has brought Begich all around the state, and helped hone his ability to communicate with Alaskans from different backgrounds, he said.
And he’s a guitarist and singer-songwriter, with a website that describes him as “the bohemian son of a family steeped in Alaska politics” whose “music and poetry resonates with the stories and the conflicts of the human condition.”
The Begich family has been among the most prominent in state history, beginning with Tom Begich’s father, Democratic U.S. Rep. Nick Begich Sr., who was presumed to have died in a plane crash in 1972. Tom Begich, now 64, was 11 when his father died, and he credits his mother Pegge Begich with instilling in him his approach to politics and life.
“She showed me how to listen to people. She showed me that caring and public service mattered more than just talking and thinking there was something special about you or anybody else,” he said.
Tom’s brother Mark Begich, also a Democrat, was a U.S. senator from 2009 to 2015.
Last November, Nick Begich III — the son of Tom and Mark’s brother Nick Jr. — became the first Republican Begich to win statewide office.
Tom Begich said he hasn’t supported his nephew’s electoral runs, but said every family member is entitled to be different. He acknowledged that some new voters may not be familiar with his family’s history: “I hope that a new person to Alaska would see who I am, what I stand for, and be excited about the possibilities it promises for Alaska, as opposed to prejudging me based on the actions of a nephew whom I don’t agree with.”
Begich filed a letter of intent to run for governor, which allows him to start building a campaign, but isn’t a formal campaign launch.
He indicated one potential pathway that would lead to him cutting short a run for governor. Another prominent Democrat, Peltola, hasn’t said what if any office she will run for next year. Begich said he has committed to her that he would not run for governor if she later decides to run for the position. She has also been mentioned as a potential candidate for U.S. Senate, against Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, or to run in a rematch against Republican U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III.
“Until that time, it’s important to have a vision out there on the table that talks to Alaskans about what our vision is,” Tom Begich said. “And that’s important to me. You don’t get there if you don’t talk to people, learn from people.”
Andrew Kitchenman has covered state government in Alaska since 2016, serving as the Capitol reporter for Alaska Public Media and KTOO before joining the Alaska Beacon. Before this, he covered state and local governments on the East Coast — primarily in New Jersey — for more than 15 years. He enjoys reading, watching movies and walking around Anchorage.
This article originally appeared on alaskabeacon.com. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
