BY: JEFF BEACH, MICHAEL ACHTERLING AND AMY DALRYMPLE
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – A total of 134 North Dakota legislative candidates will compete for 75 seats in an election cycle that will see several Republican incumbents facing primary challenges.
Republicans have 93 candidates who filed by Monday’s deadline, including several who either didn’t seek or didn’t get the district’s endorsement but gathered signatures to run in the primary.
Sen. Diane Larson, R-Bismarck, is one of District 30’s three incumbents being challenged by members of their own party during the June 11 primary. She said she’s never been in a primary contest before. Larson served in the North Dakota Legislature for 13 years between the House and Senate sides of the Capitol.
“We’re campaigning differently in that we’re already out going door-to-door,” Larson said. “Usually, we go out after Labor Day because people don’t usually want to see all of the campaigning out too early.”
She also said she’s doing her door-knocking with her fellow incumbent legislators Rep. Mike Nathe and Rep. Glenn Bosch as a team. She added she’s been getting great responses from her constituents, including one woman who prayed with Larson for her campaign as she visited.
When asked about how she planned to convince voters to cast their ballots for her over Republican challenger Adam Rose, she said her experience and voting record will suffice. “I will run on my merits, that’s it,” she said. “I’m not going to be somebody that shouts somebody else down to quiet their voice.”
The incumbents skipped the District 30 endorsing convention. Justis Amundson and Dave Charles received the endorsements for the House seats while Rose was endorsed for the Senate seat.
Pamphlets distributed during the District 30 convention criticized the voting records of the incumbents on guns, a bill related to enforcing drug laws, and a book ban bill.
“I think it’s extremely rude to not come to a meeting like this and win the approval of voters from your district,” Amundson said at the convention.
Larson said she and her colleagues need to remain approachable and reachable by their constituents, which is why the District 30 incumbents include their cellphone numbers on their campaign handouts.
“I do feel that most people think that experience does matter,” she said.
Democratic field
Democrats, meanwhile, have 41 candidates seeking legislative seats.
Democrats, who currently hold four seats in the Senate and 12 seats in the House, have a full slate of candidates in 10 of 25 districts. Rep. Corey Mock, D-Grand Forks, a longtime leader for the party, announced he is not seeking reelection after nearly 16 years.
One of the Democrats running for House in his district, which is District 18, is former state Rep. Mary Adams, who represented Grand Forks District 43 from 2018-2022. A press release from the Democratic-NPL Party described Adams as a lifelong Grand Forks resident and long-time homeowner in District 18. She said she decided to move into her family home and run again for the House.
“The stakes are too high for me to sit on the sidelines and watch the Republican supermajority waste time on culture war issues while Grand Forks families wait for real solutions to the pressing issues in the state, like our workforce shortage, affordable housing crisis, and the underfunding of public schools,” Adams said in a statement.
Races of note
Rep. Josh Boschee, D-Fargo, is an example of several lawmakers who are switching chambers, with Boschee seeking the Senate seat held now by Democrat Merrill Piepkorn, who is running for governor. The term limits measure approved by voters in 2022 limits lawmakers to serving eight years in each chamber.
North Dakota Republican Party Executive Director Andrew Nyhus filed paperwork to challenge Boschee in the November general election.
Term limits promoter Jared Hendrix, a Republican, is running for House in District 10. Hendrix also is the lead sponsor of the congressional age limits ballot measure that will be on the June ballot. Incumbent District 10 House members Hamida Dakane, D-Fargo, and Steve Swiontek, R-Fargo, also are running.
Odd election
The 2024 election cycle would normally only have even-numbered districts electing legislators.
Because of a court challenge by two tribes to legislative district lines drawn in 2021 and relying on 2020 census numbers, two odd-numbered districts, 9 and 15, will be electing legislators in November.
The new District 9 includes both the Turtle Mountain and Spirit Lake reservations. District 15 had previously included Spirit Lake.
As a result, five Native Americans, two Republicans and three Democrats, are among the candidates for the three seats in the Legislature.
In a change since the District 9 convention, Collette Brown of Warwick, a member of the Spirit Lake Nation, has filed as a House candidate instead of Craig Poitra, who had been nominated at the convention.
District 15 has three Republican incumbents, two of which had previously been in District 9, and no Democratic challengers.
Candidates competing in June 11 primary
Statewide races
Nine statewide offices are up for election this year.
U.S. Senate
- Katrina Christiansen, D
- Kevin Cramer, R
U.S. House
- Alexander Balazs, R
- Rick Becker, R
- Julie Fedorchak, R
- Sharlet Mohr, R
- Cara Mund, R
- Roland Riemers, D
- Trygve Hammer, D
Governor / lieutenant governor
- Tammy Miller and Josh Teigen, R
- Kelly Armstrong and Michelle Strinden, R
- Merrill Piepkorn and Patrick Hart, D
State auditor
- Joshua Gallion, R
- Timothy Lamb, D
State treasurer
- Thomas Beadle, R
Insurance commissioner
- Jon Godfread, R
Public service commissioner
- Randy Christmann, R
- Tracey Wilkie, D
Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Kirsten Baesler
- James Bartlett
- Darko Draganic
- Jason Heitkamp
Legislative races
A total of 134 legislative candidates are running for 75 seats. To find out what district you live in, go to the Secretary of State’s website. Even-numbered districts are up for election this year, plus districts 9 and 15, which were affected by a redistricting lawsuit.
Several Republican candidates are facing challenges in the June 11 primary. In the Nov. 5 election, each district will elect one senator and two representatives.
District 2 Senate
- Mark Enget, R
- Bob Harms, R
- Rosemary Tanberg, D
District 2 House
- Alexa Althoff, R
- Bert Anderson, R
- Donald Longmuir, R
- Charles Ringwall, R
- Betty Dhuyvetter, D
- Gene Nygaard, D
District 4 Senate
- Chuck Walen, R
District 4a House
- Ronald Brugh, R
- Lisa Finley-Deville, D
District 4b House
- Clayton Fegley, R
District 6 Senate
- Zach Lessig, R
- Paul Thomas, R
District 6 House
- Dick Anderson, R
- Pat Bachmeier, R
- Kolette Kramer, R
- Dan Vollmer, R
District 8 Senate
- Jeff Magrum, R
District 8 House
- Mike Berg, R
- SuAnn Olson, R
- Brandon Prichard, R
- Ken Rensch, R
District 9 Senate
- Judy Estenson, R
- Richard Marcellais, D
District 9 House
- David “Doc” Brien, R
- Robert Greywater, R
- Collette Brown, D
- Jayme Davis, D
District 10 Senate
- Ryan Braunberger, D
- George Roughead, R
District 10 House
- Hamida Dakane, D
- Jared Hendrix, R
- Steve Swiontek, R
District 12 Senate
- Cole Conley, R
- Olivia Schloegel, D
District 12 House
- Mitch Ostlie, R
- Bernie Satrom, R
District 14 Senate
- Karisa Grothe, R
- Jerry Klein, R
- Mark Nelson, D
District 14 House
- Larry Danduran, R
- Jon Nelson, R
- Jason Steidl, R
- Robin Weisz, R
- Jessica Hawkes, D
- Cathy Jelsing, D
District 15 Senate
- Kent Weston, R
District 15 House
- Kathy Frelich, R
- Donna Henderson, R
District 16 Senate
- David Clemens, R
- Heather Tyulyandin, D
District 16 House
- Ben Koppelman, R
- Andrew Marschall, R
- Phil Weiss, D
- Julie West, D
District 18 Senate
- Scott Meyer, R
- Kyle Thorson, D
District 18 House
- Mary Adams, D
- Scott Nelson, D
- Nels Christianson, R
- Steve Vetter, R
District 20 Senate
- Randy Lemm, R
- John Pederson, D
District 20 House
- Mike Beltz, R
- Jared Hagert, R
District 22 Senate
- Mark Weber, R
District 22 House
- Brandy Pyle, R
- Jonathan Warrey, R
- Darrell Hansen, D
District 24 Senate
- Knut Gjovik, D
- Mike Wobbema, R
District 24 House
- Babct Farnham, D
- Daniel Johnston, R
- Dwight Kiefert, R
- Shawn Olauson, D
District 26 Senate
- Dale Patten, R
District 26 House
- Roger Maki, R
- Jeremy Olson, R
- Kelby Timmons, R
District 28 Senate
- Robert Erbele, R
- Richard Schlosser, D
District 28 House
- Mike Brandenburg, R
- Sara Dux, D
- Jim Grueneich, R
- Mary Schlosser, D
District 30 Senate
- Diane Larson, R
- Adam Rose, R
- Matthew Zimmy, D
District 30 House
- Justis Amundson, R
- Glenn Bosch, R
- David Charles, R
- Mike Nathe, R
District 32 Senate
- Dick Dever, R
District 32 House
- Pat Heinert, R
- Phillip Jacobs, R
- Lisa Meier, R
- Shari Orser, D
District 34 Senate
- Justin Gerhardt, R
- Joshua Johnson, D
District 34 House
- Todd Porter, R
- Nathan Toman, R
- David Villafana, R
District 36 Senate
- Desiree Van Oosting, R
District 36 House
- Ty Dressler, R
- Dori Hauck, R
District 38 Senate
- David House, R
District 38 House
- Lisa Hermosillo, D
- Lisa Olson, R
- Dan Ruby, R
- Christina Wolff, R
District 40 Senate
- Jose Castaneda, R
District 40 House
- Macy Bolinske, R
- Alexandra Deufel, D
- Matthew Ruby, R
District 42 Senate
- Claire Cory, R
- Rodney Gigstad, D
- Dustin McNally, R
District 42 House
- Sarah Grossbauer, D
- Carol Hagen, D
- Sadie Hanson, R
- Emily O’Brien, R
- Doug Oslowski, R
District 44 Senate
- Joshua Boschee, D
- Andrew Nyhus, R
District 44 House
- Austin Foss, D
- Karla Rose Hanson, D
District 46 Senate
- Jess Arneson, D
- Michelle Powers, R
District 46 House
- Jim Kasper, R
- Desiree Morton, R
- Todd Reisenauer, D
- Will Thompson, D
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