Kirsten Baesler addresses delegates during the 2024 NDGOP Convention at the Sanford Athletic Complex in Fargo on April 5, 2024. Baesler advances to the November election. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler will defend her seat in November, but her opponent was not yet clear late Tuesday.
Baesler, who has been superintendent since 2013, had more than 55% of the vote, with about 98% of precincts reporting. Challengers Jason Heitkamp (22.1%) and Jim Bartlett (19.7%) followed.
Darko Draganic was a distant fourth.
In her campaign, Baesler has emphasized her record as a superintendent. The Mandan resident highlighted the creation of a teacher training program, reducing the size of the Public Education Department and creating an online school finance dashboard as some of her achievements in the role.
In a statement Tuesday, Baesler said she is “committed to working hard” so her supporters can win in November.
“Our students, families and teachers deserve nothing less,” she said.
The superintendent of public instruction is a nonpartisan position, although candidates sometimes request letters of support from political parties.
This is the first election cycle in which Baesler is running for the four-year term without official support from the Republican Party of North Dakota.
In April, NDGOP state convention delegates voted overwhelmingly to endorse Bartlett, a former engineering instructor and homeschool advocate. The Bottineau resident campaigned on a far-right, religious platform, promising to integrate Christian values into the public school system.
Heitkamp served as a Republican in the Senate from 2021 to 2022. He has not sought approval letters from either party. Heitkamp, a Wyndmere resident, is making property tax reform a central focus of his campaign and said he wants public schools to be funded entirely with state money, rather than local taxes.
Draganic, of Bismarck, is a former higher education administrator. He said in a January interview with the North Dakota Monitor that he is trying to address issues like graduation rates, teacher pay and college readiness.
Baesler and the second-place candidate will advance to the general election.
The post Incumbent Baesler leads in Superintendent of Public Instruction race appeared first on North Dakota Monitor.
