Tom Begich

Tom Begich

Democratic Party

Candidate, Governor of Alaska

Prior offices

Alaska State Senate District J

Successor: Forrest Dunbar

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Elections and appointments

Next election

November 3, 2026

Contact

Personal website

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Tom Begich (Democratic Party) is running for election for Governor of Alaska. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.^[source]

Begich (Democratic Party) was a member of the Alaska State Senate, representing District J. He assumed office on January 17, 2017. He left office on January 17, 2023.

Begich served as state Senate minority leader.

Biography

Tom Begich was born in Anchorage, Alaska. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Bard College in 1982. Begich’s career experience includes working as a singer/songwriter. He served as a chair on the Alaska Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, which describes its mission as, “to provide support, advice and guidance to the government and citizens of the State of Alaska, in accordance with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, to help reduce and prevent juvenile crime, while ensuring that Alaska's youth are provided meaningful opportunities to succeed.”

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2021-2022

Begich was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Education Committee
• Senate Health & Social Services Committee
• Senate Rules Committee

2019-2020

Begich was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Education Committee
• Senate Health & Social Services Committee
• Senate Rules Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Alaska committee assignments, 2017
• Education
• Health & Social Services

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2026

See also: Alaska gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Governor of Alaska

The following candidates are running in the general election for Governor of Alaska on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Tom Begich (D)
		Click Bishop (R)
		David Bronson (R)
		Adam Crum (R)
		Nancy Dahlstrom (R)
	Submit photo	Edna DeVries (R)
		Shelley Hughes (R)
	Submit photo	James Parkin (R)
		Treg Taylor (R)
		Bernadette Wilson (R)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

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2022

See also: Alaska State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Alaska State Senate District I

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Loki Tobin in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Loki Tobin	66.4	5,011	0	Won (1)
	Submit photo	Heather Herndon	32.2	2,428	0	1
		Undeclared Write-insUndeclared write-in candidates may advance past the first round in some ranked-choice elections. If the official source reports write-in votes by candidate name, Ballotpedia displays them alongside the ballot-qualified candidates. However, if write-in votes are reported without a name, they will instead be included in the total write-in votes figure in Round 1. Please consult the official elections source for more details about unnamed write-in candidate vote totals past Round 1.	1.4	105	0

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,544
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Alaska State Senate District I

Loki Tobin and Heather Herndon advanced from the primary for Alaska State Senate District I on August 16, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Loki Tobin (D)	68.0	3,435
✔	Submit photo	Heather Herndon (Independent)	32.0	1,615

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,050
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Tom Begich (D)

2020

See also: Alaska State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Alaska State Senate District J

Incumbent Tom Begich won election in the general election for Alaska State Senate District J on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Begich (D)	92.6	9,305
		Other/Write-in votes	7.4	739

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,044
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary election

Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary for Alaska State Senate District J

Incumbent Tom Begich advanced from the Alaska Democratic and Independence parties primary for Alaska State Senate District J on August 18, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Begich	100.0	3,057

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,057
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Alaska State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Alaska State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 16, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016.

Tom Begich ran unopposed in the Alaska State Senate District J general election.

Alaska State Senate, District J General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Tom Begich  (unopposed)
Source: Alaska Secretary of State

Tom Begich defeated Ed Wesley in the Alaska State Senate District J Democratic Primary.

Alaska State Senate, District J Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Tom Begich	62.46%	1,629
	Democratic	Ed Wesley	37.54%	979
Total Votes				2,608

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

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2022

Tom Begich did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Tom Begich did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Begich's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“	A Justice System That Is Fair For All: At the local and national level, I’ve worked with initiatives like Reclaiming Futures, been a leader in restorative and community justice and worked with the juvenile justice systems of over thirty states and territories. Here at home I served as chair of our Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee three times and as a member for over twenty years. I know that we must ensure balance and a path back to full participation in society while ensuring the public’s safety. An Education System That Serves All Alaskans Well: Through my work with the Coalition for Education Equity, I’ve championed Pre K and a higher base-student allocation as well as an effective public and University education system. Alaska’s children deserve an education system that performs to the highest standards, fosters critically thinking residents, and encourages our youth to live and work right here in Alaska. A Sustainable State Economy: We are a state with vast reserves of wealth – in terms of our human capital and our natural resources. Our economic future depends on shepherding these resources for our long-term sustainability. That means making choices that will lead us into a post-petroleum economy focused on renewable energy, strategic investments, and incubating Alaskan-grown business opportunities. My Commitment To You: Alaska’s future depends on a vibrant economy, a strong education system, and sustainable use of resources. I’ll work to ensure that future.	”
—Tom Begich

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Tom Begich campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2020	Alaska State Senate District J	Won general	$50,878	N/A**
2016	Alaska State Senate, District J	Won	$104,680	N/A**
Grand total			$155,558	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Alaska

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Alaska scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2022

In 2022, the Alaska State Legislature was in session from January 18 to May 18.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].
In 2021, the Alaska State Legislature was in session from January 19 to May 19. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].
In 2020, the Alaska State Legislature was in session from January 21 to May 20. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].
In 2019, the legislature was in session from January 15, 2019, through May 14, 2019. Alaska Business Report Card Legislators are scored by the Alaska Business Report Card on "how they support legislation that helps Alaska’s private business sector." The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].

In 2018, the 31st Alaska State Legislature was in session from January 16 through May 13. The Alaska Business Report Card Legislators are scored by the Alaska Business Report Card on "how supportive they are of Alaska’s private business sector." The Alaska Policy Forum Legislators are scored on their votes on specific legislation. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the Alaska State Legislature was in session from January 17 through May 17. The legislature held a special session from May 18 to June 16, a second special session from June 16 to July 15, a one-day special session on July 27, and a fourth special session from October 23 to November 21. The Alaska Business Report Card Legislators are scored by the Alaska Business Report Card on "how supportive they are of Alaska’s private business sector." The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

See also

2026 Elections

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Footnotes

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