Latest news with #NickBegich
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alaska's US Rep. Nick Begich co-sponsors bill to limit ranked choice voting
Apr. 30—Republican U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III of Alaska has co-sponsored legislation to prohibit the use of ranked choice voting in federal elections. One of the main authors of the measure that led to ranked choice voting and open primaries in Alaska criticized the bill, saying it amounts to federal overreach. Begich said in a Monday statement that ranked choice voting has added uncertainty and confusion to the federal election process. " 'One person, one vote' is a proven, tried and true method that is easy to understand, easy to audit, and quick to report," Begich said. "Experiments with our national election systems risk disenfranchisement of voters and lead to outcomes that do not represent the true will of the American people." Alaska voters approved ranked choice voting and open primaries by a small margin through a ballot measure in 2020. The voting method has been used in Alaska in state and federal elections since 2022. Begich ran for Congress three times under ranked choice voting, starting with the 2022 special election, and won last year after losing his first two attempts. Supporters of ranked choice voting and open primaries have said the election system has led to more consensus candidates elected and more power for Alaska voters. Opponents of ranked choice voting have said the election system confuses voters. In February, an initiative to repeal ranked choice voting in Alaska got the green light for signature-gathering from Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom. If successful, it would appear on the ballot in 2026. A similar repeal effort narrowly failed to pass in 2024. Anchorage attorney Scott Kendall, one of the main authors of the 2020 ballot measure that led to ranked choice voting and open primaries in Alaska, said the proposed legislation amounts to enormous federal overreach. "By and large, the federal government allows states to run elections themselves," he said. "He would have the federal government take that back from states." Kendall called Begich's statement irresponsible. Courts have found that ranked choice voting does not violate one-person, one-vote, he said. If the legislation were to pass, it would be confusing to have separate voting methods in Alaska for candidates for state and federal offices, he said. "The federal government should keep its nose out of our elections," he said. "I'm frankly shocked he would feel otherwise."
The Hill
08-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
House Democrats targeting 35 Republicans in 2026
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee rolled out a list of 35 House Republicans it plans to target in the 2026 midterms on Tuesday. The list, which the DCCC called its Districts in Play, includes Alaska Rep. Nick Begich (R); Arizona Reps. David Schweikert (R), Eli Crane (R) and Juan Ciscomani (R); California Reps. David Valadao (R), Young Kim (R) and Ken Calvert (R); Colorado Rep. Gabe Evans (R); and Florida Reps. Cory Mills (R), Anna Paulina Luna (R) and Maria Elvira Salazar (R). The committee is also targeting Iowa Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R), Ashley Hinson (R) and Zach Nunn (R); the open seat in Kentucky's sixth congressional district; Michigan Reps. Bill Huizenga (R) and Tom Barrett (R); the open seat in Michigan's 10th congressional district; Missouri Rep. Ann Wagner (R); Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon (R); New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R); and New York Rep. Mike Lawler (R ). The final names on the list are Ohio Reps. Max Miller (R), Mike Turner (R) and Mike Carey (R); Pennsylvania Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R), Ryan Mackenzie (R), Rob Bresnahan (R) and Scott Perry (R); Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles (R); Texas Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R); Virginia Rep. Rob Wittman (R); and Wisconsin Reps. Bryan Steil (R) and Derrick Van Orden (R). Rep. John James (R-Mich.), who is running for governor, currently holds Michigan's 10th congressional district, while Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), who is running for Senate, represents Kentucky's sixth congressional district. Hinson, Ogles, Miller, Turner, Carey, Mills, Huizenga and the open seat in Kentucky's sixth district are new additions to the target list since the 2024 cycle. House Democrats say the political environment is favorable for them going into 2026, pointing to the negative impacts of President Trump's recently announced tariffs, the unpopularity of Elon Musk and potential cuts to Medicaid. 'House Republicans are running scared, and they should be. They're tanking the economy, gutting Medicaid, abandoning our veterans, and making everything more expensive. In short, they've lost the trust of their constituents, and it's going to cost them the majority,' DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) said in a statement. Last month, the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee (NRCC) released its target list, which included 26 House Democrats.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
U.S. House passes two bills from Alaska Rep. Nick Begich
Republican U.S. House candidate Nick Begich and his supporters wave campaign signs at the corner of the Seward Highway and Northern Lights Boulevard on Nov. 4, 2024, the day before Election Day. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed bills that unlock additional land for Alaska Native village corporations and make it easier for disabled Alaska Natives to qualify for federal aid programs. The bills were the first from Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, to pass the House this year. Both ideas were inherited from Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, and Begich reintroduced them on the first day after Congress convened in January. Both passed the House almost unanimously, with bipartisan support. 'We're the first freshman office to get a bill passed. So that was really exciting,' Begich said by phone. 'They're commonsense bills, bipartisan bills; they do important things in Alaska, but they shouldn't be Democrat or Republican,' he said. If signed into law, HR43 would eliminate the requirement that Alaska Native village corporations hold some land in federal trust, unused, in case a new village corporation is created. That hasn't happened in more than three decades, and the Alaska Legislature requested last year that Congress repeal the law requiring the trust. HR42, the other bill, states that certain income shouldn't count against the federal benefit eligibility limit for Alaska Natives who are 'aged, blind, or disabled individual(s).' Two other Begich bills have yet to advance. One would provide federal land to Southeast Alaska Native village corporations that have no land base, and the other would extend the time that Alaska Native Vietnam War veterans have to select land parcels from the federal government. As of Monday, Begich has been in Congress for one month. Is he happy with how things have gone in that first month? 'Things are moving at a high velocity, I'd say, but I'm encouraged to see the camaraderie on the Republican side of the aisle as it relates to moving Alaskan priorities forward,' Begich said. He said he sees a 'unique window of opportunity' to open resource development — a term frequently used for mining, drilling, logging and fishing — in Alaska in a way that can't be reversed by a future presidential administration, ending 'the yo-yo effect,' he said. 'The idea that we are working on is to instantiate that right in congressional code, such that the next executive who steps in, who may have a different perspective on Alaska, no longer has the authority to close our state to development,' Begich said. On Friday, the Alaska Senate is scheduled to vote on a resolution that asks Congress and President Donald Trump to keep the name Denali for North America's tallest mountain. What does Begich think of that idea? 'I've always called the mountain Denali, and I know many Alaskans will,' he said. By phone, Begich implied that while he hasn't agreed with everything that's happened in the first month of his term, he's generally satisfied. 'We have to look at the glass. Sometimes the glass is 10% full. Sometimes it's 95% full. Right now, it's 95% full. And I'm very excited about all the good things that are happening for our state, and I'm looking forward to being a part of that conversation to make sure that Alaska remains part of the national discussion on energy security, mineral security and national security, and that's my focus,' he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
