Mark Begich
Mark Peter Begich (/ˈbɛɡɪtʃ/; born March 30, 1962) is an American politician who was a United States Senator from Alaska from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was Mayor of Anchorage from 2003 to 2009. Born in Anchorage, Begich is the son of former U.S. Representative Nick Begich Sr.. He was elected to the Anchorage Assembly at age 26. He eventually served as chairman for three years, before leaving the Assembly in 1988. Begich ran two unsuccessful campaigns for mayor in 1994 and 2000 before being elected in 2003. In the 2008 Senate election, Begich narrowly defeated incumbent Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican member of the Senate of all time. In 2014, Begich was defeated in his bid for reelection by former Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan.