Just weeks before the late Rep. Don Young died on a flight back to Alaska, he gave a stern warning at a state GOP convention: Nick Begich III is not to be trusted.
Rep. Young dished on Begich in a speech three weeks before his passing. Young’s former communications manager, Zack Brown, tweeted a recording of that speech on Thursday. Brown has been increasingly candid on social media since Young’s death, especially in the past few weeks.
Just 3 wks before passing, Rep Don Young spoke to the AK GOP & had sharp words for Begich.
“I hired that young man to show him the ropes, run for the job, don’t run against me…it’s not loyalty, nor is it honest…That’s a person I don’t want to serve me in Congress.”
Audio👇 pic.twitter.com/jkNt6nUIew
— Zack Brown (@ZackBrownDC) October 27, 2022
Brown is one of several of Rep. Young’s staffers to support current Alaska At-Large Congresswoman, Mary Peltola, with a handful having recently signed on to work for her. He’s also a leader of the broader Republican movement to support Rep. Peltola, who this week was endorsed by Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Begich announced his challenge to Rep. Young before the late Congressman passed. Following Rep. Young’s death, Begich was viewed as the front-runner until Rep. Peltola defeated him and fellow Republican former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to fill the remainder of Rep. Young’s term. All three are running for the next full, two-year term, to be decided in the Nov. 8 election.
Brown knows Begich well. They worked together in 2021, when Begich asked to be an intern in Rep. Young’s office. Begich claimed he wanted to learn how Congress worked, but according to Brown, he was using the opportunity to study Rep. Young in preparation of primarying him the following year.
In Mar ’21, Nick Begich asked Don Young to join our office & shadow the Dean to learn how Congress works. Simple request? No, Begich was planning on primarying Young all along. He used DY & staff to secure inside info. Here’s his intern badge. Can you trust him? #AKAL pic.twitter.com/FMbD6TKT46
— Zack Brown (@ZackBrownDC) October 25, 2022
We will be anxiously waiting to see what bombs Brown drops next.
