| Tonight, Alaska voters will watch Bill Hill and Nick Begich take the debate stage, where Begich’s toxic record will be on full display.
Whether it’s his votes to tear health care and food assistance away from tens of thousands of Alaskan families, votes to fund the Iran War sending gas and diesel prices above $26 in rural parts of the state, or votes to undercut Alaskan small businesses and industry with reckless tariffs, all to hand tax breaks to billionaires – and himself – on the backs of hardworking Alaskans, Begich will be forced to defend an indefensible record of selling Alaska out to side with his party bosses.
Nick Begich Has Left Alaskans Behind. Here’s How:
HEALTH CARE: Around 1 in 3 Alaskans rely on Medicaid, and more than 38,000 households on SNAP benefits, yet Nick Begich said he had “no doubt” about cutting more than a trillion dollars from both programs to give tax breaks to the top 1% – all while personally profiting from those policies himself. He voted to drive up insurance costs for ACA marketplace enrollees, leaving many families in Alaska paying more each month or forgoing coverage entirely, when health care rates are already the highest in the nation.
He has called the Big, Ugly Bill a “transformative victory” and “a great bill for Alaska.”
COSTS: Begich has broken every promise to lower the cost of living. He has faithfully supported Trump’s tariffs and reckless economic policies having an outsized impact on Alaskan businesses and industries – from fishing, mining, and seafood to travel and tourism. REMINDER: Alaska relies uniquely on import trade – 40% of Alaska small businesses are tariff-vulnerable importers.
GAS PRICES: Begich promised to lower gas prices. Instead, he has voted six times to rubber stamp the Iran War as Alaskan gas climbed above $5 a gallon and even $26 in rural parts of the state. The war has already cost taxpayers $43.6 billion and American families at least $1,200 each — while higher fuel costs squeeze the Alaskan fishing industry and threaten an energy crisis.
JOBS: Begich is a proud member of the DOGE Caucus, and repeatedly praised its work, claiming “Americans want DOGE.” Yet, reporting shows that his targeting of federal jobs left Alaska “among the states that lost the largest share of its federal workforce,” losing 10.5% of its federal jobs throughout critical industries like the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The cuts also threaten military bases, veterans hospitals, national forests, commercial fishing, subsistence management and public safety across the state.
WORKERS: His anti-worker record also speaks for itself. Begich has repeatedly voted against strengthening workers and unions, including opposing the right to organize and backing budget measures that disproportionately harm working people. Begich even made the decision not to join his fellow Republicans in passing a bipartisan bill to bring back union protections for the federal workforce, despite it impacting a huge swath of his constituents, and has failed to sign on to the PRO Act.
OUT OF TOUCH: Nick Begich came to Congress promising, “I am not a Representative who forgets where they came from or who they represent.” What Alaskans have gotten instead is a congressman who flies home on the rare occasion only to sell unpopular votes, duck protesters, refuse to hold town halls, and hide out in his suit and office in D.C. when constituents demand answers. The pattern is clear: the more damage his votes do to Alaska families, the less willing Nick Begich is to face them.
PARTY RUBBERSTAMP: Despite touting himself as a leader who will put Alaskan interests first, Begich has voted with Donald Trump 100% of the time on every policy making life worse for Alaska families. |
