South Dakota

AP Decision Notes: What to expect in North Dakota's state primaries

Published

2 years ago

June 7, 2024

AP Decision Notes: What to expect in North Dakota's state primaries

WASHINGTON (AP) — While possible Republican vice presidential hopeful Doug Burgum travels the country campaigning for former President Donald Trump, the race to succeed him back home as North Dakota governor tops the list of contests voters will decide in statewide and local primaries on Tuesday.

Burgum decided earlier this year not to seek a third term following his unsuccessful run for the White House. That created an opening not just for his own job but also for the state’s lone seat in the House.

Republican Kelly Armstrong has represented the state in Congress since his election in 2018 but has opted to run for governor rather than seek a fourth term in Washington. His primary opponent is Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller, who seeks a promotion after serving 17 months as Burgum’s second in command.

Armstrong won the endorsement of the state Republican party at its April convention, which Miller did not attend. Meanwhile, Burgum has endorsed Miller to succeed him.

The winner of the Republican primary will face Democratic state Sen. Merrill Piepkorn of Fargo, as well as independent candidate Michael Coachman, a frequent statewide office-seeker who led an unsuccessful effort to recall Burgum in 2021. Republicans have held the governor’s office since 1992.

Five Republicans and two Democrats are running to replace Armstrong in Congress. Vying for the GOP nomination are former foreign service officer and military veteran Alex Balazs, former state Rep. Rick Becker, Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak, attorney and former Miss America Cara Mund and Sharlet Mohr of Williston, an unsuccessful candidate for the Williston Basin School Board in 2023.

What to know about the 2024 Election

Balazs narrowly won the state party’s endorsement over Fedorchak after a prolonged vote at the state convention. Fedorchak leads the field in fundraising and had the largest campaign war chest as of late May. She is the only candidate in the field to have previously won statewide office.

In the Democratic primary, former teacher and military veteran Trygve Hammer faces frequent candidate Roland Riemers, who is simultaneously running for a seat on the Grand Forks School Board. Hammer has raised about $388,000 for the campaign and had about $141,000 in the bank as of late May.

Neither Riemers nor Mohr in the Republican primary has reported any campaign finance disclosures to the Federal Election Commission. A Democrat hasn’t won this seat since 2008.

Voters will also decide on a statewide ballot measure that would put an age limit on those running for the state’s U.S. Senate or House seats. People who would reach the age of 81 by the start of the final year of their term would be prohibited from appearing on the ballot.

Contested GOP primaries will be held in five state Senate and 10 state House districts. About half the seats in each chamber are up for election in November. Republicans have overwhelming supermajorities in both houses of the legislature.

Further down the ballot, Kirsten Baesler seeks another term as the state superintendent of public instruction. She faces three other candidates in the nonpartisan primary, including Republican Jason Heitkamp, a former state senator and cousin of former Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp. The top two vote-getters will advance to the general election.

Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer is also up for reelection this year, but both he and Democrat Katrina Christiansen are unopposed in their primaries.

Here’s a look at what to expect on Tuesday:

PRIMARY DAY

The North Dakota state primary will be held Tuesday. The last polls close at 9 p.m. ET in the state’s westernmost counties, although polls in most of the state close at 8 p.m. ET. All polls close at 7 p.m. local time, but North Dakota spans two time zones.

WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in 20 races. These include contested partisan primaries for governor, House, state Senate and state House, a nonpartisan primary for superintendent of public instruction and a statewide ballot measure on congressional age limits. Republican and Democratic primary contests appear on the same ballot, but voters may cast votes in only one party’s primaries.

WHO GETS TO VOTE

North Dakota does not have a formal statewide voter registration system. Any voter who meets the age, citizenship, residence and ID requirements may participate in the primary.

DECISION NOTES

The counties that usually have the biggest impact on North Dakota elections are Cass, home to Fargo and the most populous, and Burleigh, the home of the state capital of Bismarck. Grand Forks and Ward also have a sizable share of voters. A candidate with leads in these four counties would be difficult to overtake in a statewide contest.

In the gubernatorial race, Armstrong last won a competitive primary in 2018 for his first run for the House. He won that race with 56% of the vote, carrying Cass, Burleigh, Grand Forks and Ward.

For the at-large House seat, Republicans Fedorchak and Mund and Democrat Hammer all have previous statewide vote performances that may prove instructive. Fedorchak was unopposed in her 2022 Public Service Commission primary, but she won the general with 71% of the vote. Hammer received about 30% of the vote in his Public Service Commission race that year. Mund received 38% of the vote when she challenged Armstrong as an independent in 2022. She carried Cass County, but the bulk of those Fargo-area voters willing to vote for a pro-abortion rights independent against a GOP incumbent probably won’t be voting in this year’s Republican primary.

Other things to remember: The ballot measure on congressional age limits must receive at least 50% of the vote to pass. In the state House primaries, there are two winners per seat, and voters select up to two candidates.

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

North Dakota requires an automatic recount in primaries if the vote margin is 1% or less of the highest vote cast for a candidate of that office. Recounts for ballot measures are automatic if the vote margin is 0.25% or less of the top vote-getter’s vote total. A losing candidate may also request and pay for a recount if the vote margin is more than 1% but less than 2% of the highest vote cast for that office. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

WHAT DO TURNOUT AND ADVANCE VOTE LOOK LIKE?

In the 2022 primaries, North Dakota had a voting age population of about 585,000. That year, votes cast in the Republican Senate primary made up about 13% of the voting-age population, while votes in the Democratic primary made up about 4%. About 48% of votes in that election were cast before primary day.

As of Wednesday, a total of 27,271 ballots had been cast ballots before primary day.

HOW LONG DOES VOTE-COUNTING USUALLY TAKE?

In the 2022 primaries, the AP first reported results right at 9 p.m. ET as the final polls closed in the state. The election night tabulation ended at 1:10 a.m. ET with about 98% of total votes counted.

ARE WE THERE YET?

As of Tuesday, there will be 147 days until the November general election.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

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South Dakota

28 SD school districts to receive literacy grant

Published

9 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

28 SD school districts to receive literacy grant

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Nearly 30 school districts in the state of South Dakota will receive the Elevating Literacy Across South Dakota (ELA-SD) grant from the South Dakota Department of Education. The purpose of the ELA-SD grants is to help create a comprehensive program to advance literary and pre-literary skills, reading and writing for […]

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South Dakota

Rep. Dusty Johnson backs Senator Rounds push for investigation into mail service in South Dakota

Published

21 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Rep. Dusty Johnson backs Senator Rounds push for investigation into mail service in South Dakota

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) -Congressman Dusty Johnson is backing Senator Mike Round’s push for an investigation in postal service delays in South Dakota.

Johnson took to social media saying Senator Mike Rounds was right to ask for an investigation into postal service delays in South Dakota. Rounds had previously sent a letter to the postal service’s inspector general asking for her to find the cause of mail delays in South Dakota. Rounds said in his letter he has heard from hundreds of constituents across South Dakota. Johnson opened up with KOTA Territory News about his support for the investigation.

“I think the postal service is a terrible disaster,” said Johnson.

Johnson noted that in the past the service did what he said was a pretty good job. Johnson says despite sending letters and making phone calls with the postal service, he has not gotten any answers.

“I have asked if I can come down to one of their facilities, get a tour so I can better understand what’s going on behind the walls. They have refused to even let me, a member of congress, come learn about how they conduct their business. And so, this appears to be an enterprise that A, is not improving, B, isn’t communicating why there, why there failing and C doesn’t even appear to be particularly interested in getting better,” explained Johnson.

Rounds has pointed to the problem as being that mail traveling across or into South Dakota taking indirect routes. Rounds previously took a meeting with the postmaster general however the senator appears not satisfied with the outcome.

Rounds wrote in part in his letter, “I expressed my concerns about this to the Postmaster General (PMG) Steiner who downplayed such issue existed in South Dakota.”

In a letter sent to Rounds in October, Postmaster General David Steiner said that fixing issues at central region plants in Chicago, St Louis and Kansas City will likely improve outcomes and that at the time it was something the USPS was actively working on. The postmaster general acknowledged poor performance for first class mail at the beginning of the year and mid-summer but noted that it has since improved. During the week ending September 19th for South Dakota’s postal district, about %93 percent of first-class mail was delivered on time and roughly %97 percent was delivered within one day of its expected arrival. The postmaster general said he wanted to focus on the %3 percent that’s not getting to its destination on time.

“It may be only a small percentage of the mail, but because we deliver hundreds of millions of pieces each day nationally, the raw number is large,” wrote Steiner.

Steiner emphasized that some mail in South Dakota has always left the state for processing before going to another part of the state. The postmaster general explained that some mail requires certain sorting equipment and therefor some mail travels to plants with the right equipment.

The postmaster general also maintained in his letter that mail going to and from the same area in South Dakota is not leaving the state.

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South Dakota

Best steakhouse in South Dakota? Top spots for premium cuts and sides

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Best steakhouse in South Dakota? Top spots for premium cuts and sides

Step inside a few of South Dakota’s most iconic steakhouses, where the baked potatoes are foil-wrapped and the wood-fired grill is crackling.

Don’t mess with South Dakota’s red meat.

With some of the best, high-quality cattle in the country raised right here in the Mt. Rushmore state, you’ll easily find a ribeye nearby.

But not all steaks are the same. We compared the cut, the prep and the presentation and narrowed down a few of our favorite steakhouses for our carnivores.

Hartford Steak Co. Tavern

The concept for a small and affordable menu began with a burger sold for a nickel by Diane Friese’s great-grandfather in the 1920s. A family tradition untouched over the decades, you can still buy a filet mignon for an easy $15 at the Hartford Steak Co. today. But that’s about it. The filets are sized up to 24 ounces, then there’s steak tips or a hot beef sandwich to choose from. All come with a crisp, cold lettuce wedge, baked potato, and warm French bread. On the weekends, they spice it up with a $20 prime rib dinner (meaning the filets are off the menu, only one choice for you). Order a margarita on the side and enjoy a no-fuss night.

The Hartford Steakhouse has a second location in Vermillion, South Dakota.

Details: 709 N. Mundt Ave., Hartford, S.D., 605-528-6185, hartfordsteakcotavern.com.

Morrie’s Steakhouse

It’s giving Old Hollywood glam, some soft jazz and extravagance. Namesake Morrie Richards was a humble farmer from Ipswich, South Dakota, but Mama taught the family hospitality, and now the steakhouse is an experience for families and business diners. Steak is the star, but what comes with it elevates the night. Shared sides include loaded hash browns or smoked pork mac, and steak accompaniments include a 75-day-old cave-aged blue cheese slab or a three-day veal demi-glaze. Morrie’s honors community ranchers as well, bringing to the table local grass-fed butcher cuts and bone-in Tomahawk wagyu ribeyes.

Details: 2507 S. Shirley Ave., Sioux Falls, S.D., 605-362-8125, morriessteakhouse.com.

Mad Mary’s

Along the Big Sioux River in South Dakota is Mad Mary’s Steakhouse, a classic mom-and-pop in Flandreau, South Dakota, that’s been attracting hunters for more than 30 years. It’s changed hands a few times, but has been led now by Christina Ramos since 2018, who served at Mad Mary’s for more than a decade. She’s got a “secret seasoning” in the kitchen for her prime rib and sirloins, but come for the Butcher’s Trio to try it all: a plate of beef, chicken and pork served with a twice-baked potato and buttered toast for $50.

Mad Mary’s has a second location in Pierre, South Dakota, under different ownership, where you get a free T-shirt if you order a margarita. Size up after all that hearty South Dakota beef.

Details: 306 N. Veterans St., Flandreau, S.D., 605-997-9901, madmaryssteakhouse.com.

Ironwood Steakhouse

A bespoke contemporary experience in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the Minneapolis-based restaurateurs of Ironwood Steakhouse bring to town their crisp white linens, sparkly chandeliers and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Big Sioux River and Falls Park.

The maître d wears a suit and tie, so maybe you should, too.

The two-story, upscale supper club brings in its prime-aged beef from Snake River Farms in Idaho and cooks over coals for that unmistakable sear. Try the eight-ounce wagyu Zabuton, steak tartare or the steak Diane: an eight-ounce teres major cut with mushroom cream sauce.

Then return for their mushroom pierogis, rabbit stroganoff or even just an espresso martini at the bar, served with your own picture printed atop the foam.

A toast to our steak victors.

Details: 150 E. Fourth Place, Sioux Falls, S.D., 605-937-0280, ironwoodsf.com.

Delmonico Grill

Another for the upscale diners, Delmonico Grill in Rapid City, South Dakota, has been serving its in-house, dry-aged “Kona” Hawaiian style ribeye for nearly 20 years. It’s classic steakhouse fare in a comfortable atmosphere: Choose from intimate booths or red velvet benches, with a view of downtown Main Street always abuzz.

Details: 609 Main St., Rapid City, S.D., 605-791-1664, delmonicogrill.com.

Did we miss your favorite steakhouse? Drop us a line at ageorge@usatodayco.com with details.

Angela George is the trending news reporter for the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, part of the USA TODAY Co. network. Email ageorge@usatodayco.com.

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