Their Ancestors Were Democrats. These Freshmen are Republicans

Members of Congress and their relatives who have also served in Washington are almost always from the same political party. The Democratic Dingells of Michigan and the Republican Moores of West Virginia are a case in point.

But first-term Reps. Nick Begich III of Alaska and Tom Barrett of Michigan are walking a new, bipartisan familial path as Republicans with ties to former Democratic members.

The arrival of both representatives is a reminder that drastic policy and priority changes might upend Washington every few years, but bloodlines still run deep in politics. In a polarized House, the two freshmen offer at least some hope that relationships can still cut across party lines.

Different Parties, Same Goals

Despite the differing alliances, Begich said in an interview he feels similarities to his Democratic family members.

“There’s been a longstanding commitment in the Begich family for public service, and of course I see things a little bit differently and I’m on the Republican side of the aisle,” Begich said. “Traditionally Begiches are Democrats, but I think that we have the same end goals in mind.”

Begich’s namesake grandfather, Nick Begich Sr., served Alaska’s statewide district from January 1971 to October 1972, when a plane carrying him and then-House Majority Leader Hale Boggs (D-La.) disappeared during a campaign. In addition to his grandfather, Begich’s Democratic relatives include his uncle Mark Begich, an Alaska US Senator from 2009 to 2015; uncle Tom Begich, a former Alaska state senator; and his late grandfather’s brother, Joseph Begich, who was a Minnesota mayor and state legislator.

Barrett, meanwhile, is descended from a Democratic great-grandfather, Louis C. Rabaut, who represented a Detroit-area district from 1935 to 1947 and again from 1949 until 1961, when he died in office.

“I’m very mindful of the legacy that’s come before me,” Barrett said in an interview from the same office Rabaut occupied when he sponsored the 1954 law that added “Under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.

“We would say that in school every day. It was a point of pride for my family, something that I really was deeply appreciative of,” Barrett said.

‘Generational Steps’

Washington has given Barrett and Begich firsthand opportunities to learn more about congressional ancestors they never knew.

The day before his swearing-in in January, Barrett went to the National Archives to see the Pledge of Allegiance law his great-grandfather sponsored. His office includes a framed photograph of Rabaut showing three young grandsons, including Barrett’s father, a pen President Dwight D. Eisenhower used to sign the measure. Barrett named his youngest son Louis Charles after their relative.

President Harry S. Truman and the Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion, 1952. Rabaut is second from the right. Credit: National Park Service

Barrett and his family recently visited Washington’s Rabaut Park, four miles northwest of the US Capitol, where he wants to erect a sign honoring his great-grandfather, who led an Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the District of Columbia. Washington’s Rabaut Junior High School closed in the 1990s but the site is now a charter school Barrett has toured. He’d like to see a White House marker noting Rabaut and other members of Congress who served on a commission to renovate the president’s residence from 1949 to 1952.

“I’m trying to really reflect on the impact that my great-grandfather had here and the things that he did, and knowing that not many people get that chance to really go through those same generational steps,” Barrett said.

An Unexpected Connection

Begich, a member of the Natural Resources Committee, learned his grandfather served on the same panel — albeit, with a different name — when he walked into its hearing room one day and saw a photograph of him with other committee members from the 92nd Congress (1971-1972).

“It was an emotional moment because it was unexpected,” Begich said.

Begich and Barrett sit next to each other on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which superseded the Public Works Committee on which Begich’s grandfather served.

Though he didn’t complete one full House term, Begich Sr. helped enact a landmark 1971 law that established Alaska Native claims to land. In February, the House passed Rep. Begich’s bill (H.R. 43) to amend that law, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, to return lands currently held in trust by the state back to Alaska Native village corporations.

“It was interesting that the first bill that I passed in the Congress was directly connected to the legislation that he had passed while he was in Congress,” Begich said.

Familial Determination

Begich, Barrett and their forebears were all elected to Congress after losing their first bids.

Begich Sr. was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Alaska’s House seat in 1968 before winning in 1970 over Frank Murkowski (R), the future US senator and governor and the father of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R). In November 1972, three weeks after the plane carrying Begich vanished, he was posthumously re-elected over Don Young (R), who won a March 1973 special election after the House declared the Alaska seat vacant.

After Young died in March 2022 following 49 years in the House, Begich III ran in a special election won by Mary Peltola (D). After again falling short in the November 2022 election for a full two-year term, Begich ousted Peltola last November.

Rabaut lost a 1932 House Democratic primary and then unseated the incumbent in the 1934 primary. Barrett fell to then-Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D) in the 2022 general election, then won the seat last year when Slotkin ran successfully for the Senate.

Though Barrett doesn’t share his great-grandfather’s party affiliation, he wants to emulate the maverick impulses of an ancestor who was elected as a New Deal Democrat but wasn’t afraid to vote against President Franklin Roosevelt.

“He was known to be rather independent and sometimes a bit of a pain to his leadership,” Barrett said. “I’m hoping to keep that family tradition alive.”