Carlyle Begay

Carlyle Begay
File:Carlyle Begay by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Member of the Arizona Senate from the 7 district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2013
Personal details
Born	Ganado, Arizona, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (until 2015) Republican (2015-present)
Alma mater	University of Arizona
Religion	Christian

Carlyle W. Begay is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represents the seventh district in the Arizona State Senate which is the largest Legislative State District in the Continental United States.

Early life

Begay is Navajo and was born on the Navajo Nation and he is Tó’tsohnii (Big Water), born for Kinyaa’áanii (Towering House) clans. His maternal grandparents are Tl'izi lani (Many Goats clan). His paternal grandparents are also of the Tl'izi lani (Many Goats clan). Begay is a lifetime resident of Arizona and grew up on the Navajo Nation near Black Mesa and was raised under the teachings of his ancestry, instilling in him the importance of remembering the story of his people and carrying it on to his descendants.

Begay graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology and was a student in the Minority Medical Education Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. He also attended the Arizona International College's Natural Sciences and Mathematics program in Tucson, Arizona; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Winter Institute, in Baltimore, Maryland; and the Harvard School of Public Health's Public Health Studies program in Boston, Massachusetts.

Political career

Begay succeeded Jack Jackson, Jr. in the Arizona State Senate in 2013 after Jackson's resignation. On November 23, 2015, Begay announced that he switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.

External links

• Profile at Project Vote Smart