Mark Begich, who skipped college to run his family’s business, has toppled the U.S. Senate’s longest-serving Republican, and will become the only senator without a college degree.

The incumbent, Sen. Ted Stevens, who brought millions of dollars to his state during his four decades in the Senate but was convicted on federal corruption charges just days before the election, conceded defeat this afternoon.

Mr. Begich, the Democratic mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, was first elected to the Anchorage Assembly at age 26. He makes no secret of never attending college, noting in his Facebook profile that he saved the Alaska Student Loan Corporation from bankruptcy, despite his lack of a degree. He headed the corporation from the mid-1990’s until 2002.

His father, Nick Begich, who was Alaska’s third congressman, was among those killed when his plane disappeared over the Gulf of Alaska, in 1972. Mark Begich, who was only 10 at the time, decided to forgo college to run his family’s apartment-building business, according to the Associated Press.

In his education platform, Mr. Begich calls for increased federal support for Alaska Native education, and for career and technical education. He also promises to keep the University of Alaska strong. “College is a necessity that’s priced like a luxury,” the platform says. —Kelly Field