Candidates:
- Senator Mark Begich (D): first elected to the U.S. Senate - 2008. Prior to that he was the Mayor of Anchorage (2003-2009) Senator's campaign website.
- Dan Sullivan (R): Alaska Commissioner of Natural Resources (2011-2013). Prior to that he was Alaska's Acting Attorney General (2009-2010) and Assistant U.S. Secretary of State (2006-2009). Senate campaign site.
Jason's Bottom Line:
- This election is a whole lot tougher to handicap for you - as Mr. Sullivan has never been a Member of the U.S. Congress (or the state legislature), so he does not have a voting record to look at. What I can say is that Senator Begich has been a strong voice for Alaskan interests (even when he had to stand up to the Democratic leadership). He and Senator Murkowski (R-AK) have a great working relationship and have partnered on many issues over the course of this Congress.
- Mark Begich is a bi-partisan Senator who has been a dogged supporter of Alaskans in the U.S. Senate. He's not perfect on every issue - but he fits the people of Alaska well. At least we know where he stands on the issues, even if we don't always agree.
- Dan Sullivan started out as a conservative, but not Tea Party, candidate who was able to best a Tea Party Republican in the primary. Since that victory, he has moved significantly to the right to try to earn the support of the Tea Party - recently securing the endorsement of the Tea Party Express. By in large, it seems that Sullivan is doing his best to ignore the issues and tie Begich to President Obama without revealing any issue positions.
