Nick Begich III sworn in as Alaska’s new U.S. representative, names former business partner to staff

Alaska’s newly elected Republican U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III cast his first vote on Friday, supporting Louisiana Republican Rep. Mike Johnson for House speaker on the first day of the 119th Congress.

Begich took the oath of office after Johnson was reelected speaker Friday afternoon. A businessman whose personal wealth helped propel his ascent to Congress, this will be Begich’s first time representing the state in elected office.

In a statement, Begich said he would work on “unleashing Alaska’s vast natural resources, building infrastructure that fosters growth, and championing policies that put Alaskans and Americans First.”

In assuming office, Begich becomes only the sixth U.S. House member representing Alaska since it was granted statehood. He is the grandson of Nick Begich Sr., a Democrat who served as Alaska’s third U.S. House member before a plane he was in disappeared on a flight from Anchorage to Juneau in 1972. He is also the nephew of Alaska’s Democratic former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich.

Begich announced staffing choices Friday, including selecting his former business partner as a senior adviser. JC Garrett will join Begich’s congressional staff after working as chief executive of FarShore Partners, a software company started by Begich, and as managing partner of Dashfire, an equity investment firm started by Begich.

Begich’s chief of staff will be Michael Horanburg, who previously served as chief of staff for a one-term Republican U.S. House member from New Mexico. His legislative director will be Kevin Swanson, who previously worked for U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and former U.S. Rep. Don Young, who died in office in 2022. Josh Walton, who ran Begich’s recent campaign and previously worked for the Alaska GOP, was named legislative assistant.

For state director, managing in-state operations, Begich has named Rick Whitbeck, who previously worked for an organization championing resource development and prior to that worked for GCI, Alaska’s largest telecommunications company.

To manage his Anchorage office, Begich picked Portia Babcock Samuels, who previously worked for oil company ConocoPhillips. She is the sister of Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s former chief of staff, Tuckerman Babcock. Managing the Fairbanks office will be Leslie Hajdukovich, who recently lost a high-profile race for Alaska Senate. Hajdukovich previously worked for Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Nick Begich III, 47, was born in Alaska and raised by his maternal grandparents in Florida, returning to the state as an adult with a conservative brand of politics that set him apart from his grandfather and uncles, who held elected office as Democrats.

Begich’s path to Congress began in 2020, when he co-chaired the reelection campaign of Young, Alaska’s longtime U.S. House member. In 2022, Begich announced he would run against Young, positioning himself to the right of Young, who died unexpectedly several months after Begich entered the race. Several of Young’s former staffers supported his Democratic opponent, Mary Peltola, helping propel her to victory.

Begich again ran against Peltola in 2024, prevailing in what was one of the most expensive U.S. House races that year. Begich beat Peltola by less than three percentage points. Begich was endorsed by Trump and Johnson, the U.S. House speaker, only after Alaska Republicans pressured Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom — Trump and Johnson’s favored candidate — to drop out of the race after finishing behind Begich in the August primary.

Peltola, who formally ended her time in Congress on Friday, has yet to comment publicly on her future plans, but has jokingly said she was considering running for several offices in 2026.

During his first day in office, Begich reintroduced three pieces of legislation that had been introduced by Peltola during her first year in office but stalled in the Republican-controlled House. The three bills already passed the Senate, where they were sponsored by Murkowski. In a statement earlier this week, Murkowski called the measures “non-controversial” and said she was optimistic they could pass early in the congressional term.

All three of the measures are related to the rights of Alaska Native people under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The first would exclude settlement trust benefits for disabled and elderly Alaskans when determining eligibility for federal government assistance, such as food assistance or supplemental income from the Social Security Administration. The second would allow several communities in Southeast Alaska to form new Alaska Native corporations and receive land allotments from the Tongass National Forest.

The third would turn over undeveloped land to Alaska Native village corporations rather than having it kept in trust for future residents. The measure, which would ease the path toward new development and resource extraction projects, is supported by the Alaska Federation of Natives, Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the Alaska Legislature, which last year passed a resolution unanimously supporting the federal legislation.

In a statement, Begich said the introduction of the bills during his first day in office showed that he is “hitting the ground running to advocate for our state’s future.”