U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong won Tuesday’s Republican primary for governor of North Dakota, while longtime state utilities regulator Julie Fedorchak finished first in a tempestuous race for the Republican Party for the House of Representatives seat he will vacate . Each will take on a leadership position ahead of the November general election in the conservative state.
Armstrong, who currently holds North Dakota’s only House of Representatives seat, defeated Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller in the race to succeed Republican Gov. Doug Burgum, who did not seek a third term and is being considered the vice presidential running mate of becoming former President Donald Trump.
“We’ve never taken anything for granted in this race. We never take our supporters for granted,” Armstrong said. “We never take North Dakota for granted, and we are very excited and looking forward to moving to the next step.”
Fedorchak won a five-way contest among candidates who ranged from seasoned officeholders to little-known contenders. She would be the first woman to represent North Dakota in the House of Representatives.
Also Tuesday, voters approved a high-profile initiative that would bar people from running for or serving in the U.S. House or Senate if they turn 81 during their term.
The Republican Party’s primaries are crucial to winning office in North Dakota, where Democrats have not won a statewide contest since 2012 and Republicans have held the office of governor since 1992. Some legislative elections this year had only GOP candidates, and two GOP state officials were unopposed. .
Armstrong, a lawyer and former senator serving his third term in the House of Representatives, received support from the state party and from Trump. Miller did not attend the GOP convention but received Burgum’s endorsement.
Armstrong said he plans to fly back to Washington on Wednesday morning, but his campaign will soon refocus on the general election. He will face Democratic Senator Merrill Piepkorn, who won his party’s primary unopposed.
Independent Michael Coachman, who once tried unsuccessfully to recall Burgum, is also seeking the governorship. He was not present for Tuesday’s vote and has not yet submitted any signatures for November.
The next governor will take office in mid-December, weeks before the biennial legislative session begins. Whoever takes the post will be tasked with balancing priorities, spending and tax cuts at a time when the state’s finances are healthy, as well as considering property tax reform, said Jim Poolman, a former Republican commissioner. state insurance, legislator and party official.
In the House primary won by longtime Public Service Commissioner Fedorchak, other Republican contenders included military veteran and former U.S. State Department employee Alex Balazs; plastic surgeon and former state representative Rick Becker; Williston resident Sharlet Mohr; and Cara Mund, a lawyer and former Miss America who ran unsuccessfully as an independent in 2022.
Fedorchak will face military veteran Trygve Hammer, who won the Democratic primary against Roland Riemers, in the general election.
On Tuesday, she condemned text messages sent to some phones that portrayed her as dropping out, calling them “with minimal election fraud” and saying her campaign will file a complaint. It was unclear how widespread the messages were. Secretary of State Michael Howe said his office has responded to questions from a handful of provincial auditors and called the reports misleading and untrue.
Balazs, Becker and Mohr said they were not behind the messages, and Mund said via Facebook that she had not given anyone permission to “spam” cell phones. A spokeswoman for the Democratic NPL party also denounced the reports.
The campaign for the House of Representatives was marked by harsh, negative ads in a battle of “who can be the Trumpiest,” said Earl Pomeroy, a Democrat who held the seat from 1993 to 2011.
The ballot measure setting Congress’ age limit is intended to prevent age-related and cognitive problems among officeholders, supporters say.
Some legal experts see it as a test case for reconsidering a 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on congressional term limits. A state legislative panel added a $1 million cost estimate to the measure, ahead of a lengthy legal challenge.
Republican U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, who had not contested his primary primary bid for reelection, opposed the measure, saying voters should be able to choose who they want.
“It just doesn’t make sense to me to arbitrarily limit those decisions,” Cramer said.
Despite the decisive nature of the primaries, they historically had low turnout, ranging from 17% to 27% of eligible voters between 2014 and 2022.
