Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Seattle — Mark Begich settled in Wednesday as Alaska’s newest U.S. senator-elect by doing what almost no other Democrat in Washington would ever do: declaring his support for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

But this is Alaska, where Democrats are of a different stripe, Begich reminded those who haven’t seen many national-level Democrats from Alaska lately.

“I think anyone who knows me knows I’m a different Democrat. I’m from Alaska. I’m a believer, a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, a supporter of drilling in ANWR. Alaskans are very liberal [in their belief that] government should not interfere in their personal life,” he said.

“I’m definitely different from a New York Democrat — you can bank on that,” he said in response to a question from the New York Times.

Begich, the 46-year-old mayor of Anchorage, edged out four-decade Republican incumbent Ted Stevens, 85, by more than 3,700 votes. Stevens issued a statement Wednesday conceding the race…

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