In North Dakota, GOP candidates are shoo-ins

Editor’s note: This report was updated Nov. 1.

STATE STATS

Voter makeup: Republicans have a tight hold on the North Dakota legislature, with a 43-4 majority in the Senate and an 82-12 majority in the House of Representatives. A Republican governor has led the state since 2000. Recent statewide polling finds Republicans highly likely to sweep all elections for U.S. House, Senate, the presidency, and the governor’s race.

Voting: North Dakota is the only state that does not require voter registration, a decision it made in 1951. While cities may require voters to register for local elections, only one, Medora, with a population of about 120, has chosen to do so.

U.S. citizens 18 years of age or older may vote after living in North Dakota for at least 30 days before the election. To vote at a polling place or cast an absentee ballot, voters must show valid identification that includes their name, date of birth, and residential address. Voters may also use non-photo proof such as a utility bill or paycheck.

If a voter does not have a valid ID, he or she can fill out a provisional ballot. The vote will only count if the voter provides proper identification before the canvassing board meets 13 days after the election.

Voters must fill out an application to receive a mail-in or absentee ballot. Thirty-five of North Dakota’s 53 counties are designated “vote by mail.” Those counties automatically send an application for a mail-in ballot to residents of voting age. Voters must place the ballot in the mail, return it to a drop box, or deliver it to an election official by 5 p.m. the day before Election Day.

PRESIDENTIAL

President Lyndon B. Johnson was the last Democrat to win the presidential contest in North Dakota in 1964. Former President Donald Trump won North Dakota’s three Electoral College votes in 2016 and 2020 with more than 60 percent of ballots both years.

The major parties run the primary elections in the state. The North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League conducted a presidential preference election on March 30. President Joe Biden, 81, won 92.4 percent of the vote. In the state’s Republican caucuses in March, Trump, 78, carried the Republican nomination with 84 percent of the vote, while former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who suspended her campaign in March, garnered 14.1.

GUBERNATORIAL

Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican, will not seek a third term in office. A Democrat has not won the North Dakota governor’s mansion since 1992.

• Republican Kelly Armstrong, 47, has served as the single North Dakota U.S. representative, known as a representative at-large, since 2018. Previously, he worked as an attorney and as vice president of his family’s energy business. Armstrong was elected to the North Dakota state Senate in 2012 and was the state GOP chairman in 2015. Armstrong has a pro-life voting record in the House. His platform prioritizes addressing addiction and the drug crisis through education and treatment measures. He won the Republican nomination for governor in June with 72.8 percent of the vote.

• State Sen. Merrill Piepkorn launched a longshot bid in March and won the Democratic primary uncontested. He is a musician and the president of Prairie Airwaves Inc., a broadcasting group. Piepkorn, who has served in the state Senate since 2016, advocates for public education, abortion, and property tax reform. He has said that decisions about a “woman’s healthcare” should not rest with the government.

SENATE

Incumbent Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer is defending his Senate seat this year against Democratic opponent Katrina Christiansen.

• Christiansen, 42, earned a PhD in agricultural engineering in 2011. She is an assistant professor in the engineering department at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota. In 2022, she ran unsuccessfully for North Dakota’s other U.S. Senate seat. Christiansen said she sees a need for “antitrust, pro-family legislation.” She has been endorsed by organizations including the National Organization for Women Political Action Committee, ERA NOW, and No Dem Left Behind.

• Cramer, 63, is a native North Dakotan who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2018. He previously served three terms in Congress and was the public service commissioner in North Dakota. He is campaigning on fiscal responsibility, free market principles, border security, and national defense.

U.S. HOUSE

Gubernatorial candidate Armstrong is not running for reelection to Congress, leaving North Dakota’s single House seat open for newcomers.

• Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak, a Republican, is a North Dakotan with a background in communications. She previously worked in state operations for U.S. Sen. John Hoeven. Fedorchak won the nomination for U.S. representative with 45.9 percent of the Republican vote. Her platform supports border security and pro-life protections and opposes federal overreach and excessive spending.

• Democrat Trygve Hammer, 57, attended the U.S. Naval Academy and accepted a commission into the Marine Corps. Hammer deployed to Iraq in 2003. He now works as a counselor with the federal career training program Job Corps. Hammer supports a right to abortion, which he calls “women’s freedom to make their own healthcare decisions.” His other priorities include defending Social Security benefits from what he sees as Republican attacks and lowering prescription drug prices. Hammer won his primary race with 73.3 percent of the Democratic vote.

BALLOT MEASURES

Constitutional measures require a simple majority in the state legislature to appear before voters on the ballot. There are five statewide ballot measures up for election this year.

• Constitutional Measure 1 modernizes the language in the state constitution that describes disabilities and institutions of the state. For instance, the amendment would replace “an institution for the feebleminded” with “a facility for individuals with developmental disabilities.”

• Constitutional Measure 2 tightens the requirements for circulating petitions for initiatives to amend the state constitution. It limits those proposals to one subject, requires a qualified elector to circulate petitions, and details an updated voting process on amendments.

• Constitutional Measure 3 specifies the management of North Dakota’s Legacy Fund. Each month, 30 percent of the taxes on petroleum produced and extracted from North Dakota land transfer to the legacy fund to be used for state operations. The proposed measure would limit how much the state can spend from the fund.
• Initiated Measure 4 would alter the property taxes state and local governments are allowed to levy. It would largely remove property taxes based on assessed value, and the state legislature would be on the hook to replace the lost revenue.

• Initiated Measure 5 would legalize recreational marijuana in North Dakota. The majority of state voters already rejected similar initiatives in 2018 and 2022. The current measure would allow people aged 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow three plants, with a six-plant limit per household.

Dig deeper:

• Read Carolina Lumetta’s report on Trump’s possible running mates, including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

• Read Jonah Hendricks’ report on North Dakota’s border vulnerabilities.
• Read Addie Offereins’ coverage of marijuana legalization efforts this election cycle.

Visit the WORLD Election Center 2024 to follow our state-by-state coverage between now and November.