North Dakota
Candidates not seeking Republican endorsement bad for party long-term, NDGOP chair says
GRAND FORKS — North Dakota Republican Party Chairwoman Sandi Sanford said the number of candidates and the quality of candidates running for North Dakota’s U.S. House seat is good for the state, although she believes the trend of bypassing the Republican endorsement isn’t good for the party.
“This is incredibly exciting for North Dakotans,” Sanford said. “I love the fact that people are stepping forward and I’m grateful to have so many candidates for the state of North Dakota to choose from.”
At present, three Republican candidates are hoping to be the party’s November candidate for the state’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. They include
Rick Becker
, of Bismarck;
Tom Campbell
, of Grafton; and
Julie Fedorchak
, of Bismarck. Campbell and Fedorchak have said that they will try to get the party’s endorsement, but all three will go to the June 11 primary regardless.
According to NDGOP’s rules, “any person who has sought the endorsement of another political party or ran as an independent for statewide office in the past six years shall be prohibited from seeking the endorsement of the North Dakota Republican Party’s state convention.”
That rule means that only Fedorchak and Campbell are eligible for the Republican endorsement, since Becker ran as an independent candidate against Sen. John Hoeven in 2022.
Overall, the trend of bypassing the endorsement process is bad for the party, according to Sanford.
“We need to give candidates a reason to seek the endorsement,” Sanford said. “For whatever reason, there’s been a shift in the party. What we’re experiencing in the state of North Dakota is not unique. … What is happening in North Dakota is happening across the nation.”
Candidates receiving party endorsement and support have made the NDGOP into the dominant force it is in North Dakota politics, Sanford said
“This is what built a supermajority in the last 12 years,” she said. “My concern is the fact that we have a state committee that’s somewhat split, and the party wants to have good candidates, and we want to keep a supermajority.”
Sanford continued, “I think the June primary is going to be really telling for us to whether the GOP endorsement matters.”
Sanford, who recently returned from a national Republican Party meeting, said the whole party, not just in North Dakota, needs to figure out its identity.
“We need to be clear on what we stand for, what our core values are. We also need to understand that there are many people in the big Republican tent,” Sanford said. “I think we’re forgetting that as Republicans, we have different factions in the state that believe their faction is the only way and that is just not true.”
Recent history in North Dakota has shown that candidates who don’t have the party’s endorsement can still win. Now-U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer didn’t get the party’s endorsement when he won the U.S. House primary in 2012, and Gov. Doug Burgum didn’t have the party’s endorsement when he won the primary for governor in 2016.
While the candidates may not abide by the party’s decision, in the eyes of Sanford, that decision does show how serious they are about running for office.
“There are seriously good candidates that are really having to resort to ‘you know what, I’m taking it to the primary regardless,’ and that’s sending multiple messages,” Sanford said. “It’s telling people that the GOP is just tradition, that the GOP is really nothing at all. But it is also telling us that these are serious candidates and they are not going to back down regardless of the convention or lack of endorsement.”
Voigt covers city government in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks.
North Dakota
North Dakota Democratic delegates unanimously endorse Harris to be presidential nominee
BY: MICHAEL ACHTERLING
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota delegates to the Democratic National Convention unanimously endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris during a virtual meeting on Tuesday.
The announcement from the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party comes two days after President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race and endorsed Harris as the presidential nominee.
A delegate tracker from The Associated Press showed that Harris had enough support by Tuesday morning to make her the Democratic presidential nominee.
Kylie Oversen, chair of the North Dakota delegation, said in a statement the Biden-Harris administration has accomplished more for rural America and North Dakota than any other administration in recent memory.
“Investments from the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act have been life changing for communities across our state and region,” Oversen said in the statement.
She also cited the Biden administration’s investments in clean water infrastructure, broadband expansion and rebuilding roads and bridges.
“The Biden Harris administration has also prioritized investments in rural health systems, rural electric cooperatives, food security, and infrastructure in our tribal communities,” she said. “We are grateful for President Biden’s generational and transformative leadership.”
Oversen also said Harris has been fully vetted on the national stage and demonstrated her ability to lead in Biden’s administration.
“Her commitment to reproductive justice and improving maternal health outcomes is especially important to me,” she said. “Our delegation looks forward to a fair, orderly process to nominate our next ticket for president and vice president, and we remain committed to maintaining Democratic leadership in the White House come November.”
Oversen added the delegation expressed its gratitude to Biden for his “decades of compassionate public service.”
“Biden’s decision to pass the torch to a new generation of leadership comes from a place of humility and true patriotism,” she said.
The Democratic National Convention will be held Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
North Dakota
Letter: Be wary of plans for large-scale dairies in North Dakota
To the editor,
There is a history of confined animal feeding operations ruining the environment in many states. The new
Riverview Dairy
operations set to enter the eastern part of North Dakota near Hillsboro and Wahpeton should be looked at through the eyes of how we want our livestock industry to expand.
Twenty-five thousand confined dairy cows is huge. Yes, they have state of the art waste disposal systems — or do they? What about flooding? Not unheard of in the Red River Valley. Additionally, the water required for these animals may seem fine but what about in a drought? Do you want to compete for drinking water with cows? Aquifers are being depleted for ag use already.
Twenty-five thousand animals hooked up to machines. Not grazed. Not good.
Workers will be temporary and not connected to the communities. Their money will be sent out of state/country. The money from Riverview will be sent out of the state. Riverview has multiple dairies in other states. Most inputs will be bought wholesale and not locally.
Ag Commissioner Doug Goehring said this LLP can do business without the change to our corporate farming law in the last legislative session. However, they sure are being subsidized by support for infrastructure stemming from other legislation piggy backed on that change in our anti-corporate farming law. A law that was meant to support local farmers to expand by accessing capital from other sources. This dairy will finish the small dairy opportunities in North Dakota using money meant to support them.
Karen Anderson
Warwick, North Dakota
North Dakota
Yankton County, SD deputies arrest South Dakota fugitive after 4-week search
YANKTON COUNTY, SD (KTIV) – There’s a new development in a manhunt that started last month in South Dakota.
Authorities in Yankton County say they’ve found an Iowa man wanted for violating his parole and arrested him after a nearly four-hour standoff Monday night.
The Yankton County Sheriff’s Office says its deputies learned 48-year-old Jason Sitzman was inside a home in Lesterville, South Dakota, and went to that home trying to make contact with him.
Sitzman was wanted on warrants for violating his parole in Iowa, as well as, for failure to appear in court in Yankton County and for aggravated eluding of law enforcement.
But, Sitzman, and another woman who was inside, refused to leave the house. That was at around 7:00pm. Around 10:45pm authorities used chemical agents inside the home to get Sitzman and the woman outside. The woman is identified as 23-year-old Kendra Kirrman.
Both were taken into custody and charged with obstructing law enforcement.
Law enforcement have been looking for Sitzman for more than a month. Back on June 19th… he reportedly fled South Dakota authorities on a motorcycle… riding into Nebraska before ditching the bike at the Chalkrock Wildlife Management Area in Cedar County. Authorities searched the area using drones and a helicopter but weren’t able to find Sitzman.
Copyright 2024 KTIV. All rights reserved.
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