Thomas Scott Begich (born October 31,1960) is an American politician and a former Democratic member of the Alaska Senate. He represented District J from 2017 to 2023. In August 2025,he announced he would run as a Democrat in the 2026 Alaska gubernatorial election. He is the son of former US representative Nick Begich Sr.,brother of former US senator Mark Begich,and uncle of current US representative Nick Begich III.
Begich is a musician and author. He has released six albums and has performed in venues across the country. He is also the author of a book of poetry,"Six Truths,Fifty Sonnets."[1] He was a delegate to the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Begich was elected to the Alaska Senate in 2016 and was reelected twice without general election opposition.[2][3] In 2022,his seat was redistricted,and Begich chose to withdraw his candidacy for the seat.[4]
In 2020,Begich partnered with Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy to introduce the Alaska Reads Act,an initiative aimed to improve reading for kindergarten through third-grade students through a reading intervention program,teacher training,and data reporting requirements. The Alaska Reads Act was passed by the Alaska Legislature in May 2022.[citation needed]
In August 2025,Begich announced he would be running as a Democrat in the 2026 Alaska gubernatorial election. He is seeking to replace Republican Mike Dunleavy,who is barred from seeking re-election due to term limits.[5]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
