North Dakota
What caused a deadlock for the North Dakota Republican endorsement for US House?
FARGO — None of the Republican candidates for U.S. House expected the North Dakota Republican Party’s endorsement for their race to
end with a deadlock.
The unusual vote garnered ballots for three candidates on Saturday, April 6, at the state GOP convention in Fargo. Only two qualified for the nomination, but there was a twist.
On the first vote,
Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak
topped
military veteran Alex Balazs, of Cando,
611-403. Fedorchak seemed to win, but voters wrote in former state
Rep. Rick Becker’s
name on 382 ballots. Also known as spoiled ballots, the write-ins counted toward the total vote and prevented the nominees from getting a majority.
No majority, no election, NDGOP Chair Sandi Sanford announced. Twice.
Even after Becker told delegates to vote for a nominee on the second go-around, neither could secure the nod. Balazs edged Fedorchak 605-599. With 13 ballots spoiled again for Becker, Balazs fell short of the majority.
Alyssa Goelzer/The Forum
Becker, Balazs and Fedorchak told The Forum after the vote that they were surprised no one could get a majority. Sensing the results wouldn’t change, Fedorchak said there was no point in making delegates stay for a third vote.
She decided to step up to the microphone and concede the nomination to Balazs.
“It was just clear to me, it was time to move,” Fedorchak said Monday in a phone interview with The Forum.
She called Becker’s successful attempt to spoil ballots a “self-serving” stunt. State GOP rules said the Bismarck man couldn’t seek the nomination because he ran as an independent against U.S. Sen. John Hoeven in 2022.
The morning of the vote, Becker asked delegates to vote for him, though he said in a text message that
he didn’t want Balazs to get attention.
In the months leading up to the convention, delegates told Becker they didn’t like their options for the nominee and that they would write his name in, he told The Forum on Tuesday. He said he warned them that would waste their ballots.
He also said he didn’t know the spoiled ballots would count toward the total and potentially prevent a majority.
“People were angry because they thought it was a stunt to spoil the convention,” he said. “It really wasn’t.”
Alyssa Goelzer/The Forum
In 2021, the North Dakota Republican Party put in place a rule that would ban anyone from seeking the GOP endorsement in any race for six years if they run as an independent or seek another party’s endorsement.
Becker said the rule didn’t specifically target him, but he said it prevents Republicans from having an option at the convention.
“It should not be there to protect incumbents,” he said of the rule, advocating that it should be changed.
Fedorchak said the rule should “absolutely not” be changed.
“Are you serving the Republican Party, or are you just trying to find the easiest path to victory?” she asked.
Becker broke the rules and then came to the convention to orchestrate a plan to spoil ballots, Fedorchak said. That threw the convention into chaos, she said.
“It served no purpose,” she said.
Alyssa Goelzer/The Forum
Becker said his voters felt disenfranchised by not being allowed to vote for him. All they wanted was a voice, and they got it by spoiling ballots, he said.
“We have significant support throughout the state, and I think the convention showed that,” he said.
Before the first vote, he said, he asked party leaders if he could speak after the first-round results were announced. In that speech, he thanked his supporters, said their voices were heard and encouraged them to vote for a qualified nominee instead of him on the second vote.
Fedorchak said Becker disenfranchised voters by running as an independent in the first place.
“Those kind of actions don’t belong in a person seeking one of the highest offices in the state,” she said. “Leaders are supposed to serve others, not be served.”
As a first-time candidate, Balazs said he knew the fight for the nomination was an uphill battle.
“I was ready for any process that came along — maybe not this one,” he said of the spoiled votes.
The vote should have been a clean one between the two nominees, Balazs said shortly after the vote. He didn’t agree with Becker’s tactics, though he said he respects Becker’s supporters wanting to vote for their preferred candidate.
“They clearly wanted a moment to speak,” he said.
When asked if the rule should change, he said that is up to the party. He said he wouldn’t change the rule unless his supporters wanted to. When rules are in place and candidates decide to break them, they have to live with the consequences, he said.
“If it was my kid, I’d say, ‘I’m not changing the rules now because you already knew that,’ ” Balazs said.
Alyssa Goelzer/The Forum
Heading into the June 11 primary, Balazs, Fedorchak and Becker face a
five-way race.
Former Miss America and Bismarck attorney Cara Mund joined the race as a Republican on Monday, as did
Williston resident Sharlet Mohr.
The winner will either face Trygve Hammer, whom the Democratic Party endorsed this weekend, or Roland Riemers, of Grand Forks. Riemers also joined the race on Monday.
Getting a party’s endorsement, especially from the controlling party in the state, gives Balazs an advantage. Seen largely as a newcomer, he can now tell voters he has the support of the party.
Balazs said he plans to travel as much as possible to meet with people and get his name known to the public. He said the candidates need to learn to follow the rules as they run their campaigns.
“I’m going to run that way up until the primary,” he said. “It’s going to be honest. … People have to decide who has the best character, who has the best platform and who they want to vote for.”
David Samson/The Forum
Becker said he was pleased with how many delegates voted for him. He said he feels good heading into the five-way race because three candidates, including himself, have name recognition.
“I think the grassroots base has actively been growing,” he said, calling the vote at the convention a success.
Fedorchak also is well-known in the state, along with Mund, who ran against U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong in 2022 as an independent.
Fedorchak said she is excited to get out to meet people, talk about her mission and get her message out to voters.
“I think we have strong momentum coming out of the convention,” she said.
FARGO — Reading test scores are declining across the U.S., but North Dakota is working to reverse that trend.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as “The Nation’s Report Card,” reported a significant decline in U.S. reading scores between 2019 and 2022.
A statewide plan in North Dakota is focusing on key areas of development: Phonics, vocabulary, comprehension and oral reading fluency, or reading aloud.
It’s called “The Science of Reading in North Dakota.”
“COVID played a big role in this. We certainly went backwards after COVID, and that’s unfortunate, but I think we’re taking the correct steps to move forward now,” Nick Archuleta, president of North Dakota United, said. North Dakota United is the union of the North Dakota Education Association and the North Dakota Public Employees Association.
A recent survey by the National Literacy institute shows 21% of adults in the U.S are illiterate and 54% have a literacy rate below a sixth-grade level.
JAMESTOWN — State and local officials went on a tour of three businesses in Jamestown on Friday, Dec. 13, that highlighted recipients of the Automate ND Grant Program.
The tour included stops at Champ Industries USA Inc., Agri-Cover Inc. and Midmach.
Champ Industries received a $240,500 grant for an automated tool-loading brake press.
“This program helped a lot,” said Kyle Johnson, plant manager at Champ Industries. “Automation is definitely something that we were going towards, and this allowed us to take the first step much sooner than we anticipated.”
Agri-Cover received a nearly $283,000 grant for robot arms and autonomous carts. Midmach received $500,000 for three robotic welding cells.
The North Dakota Development Fund received $5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding for a grant program during the 2023 legislative session. The program was developed in response to the workforce shortage in North Dakota, according to the North Dakota Department of Commerce’s website.
The one-time program made grants of up to $500,000 available to primary-sector certified businesses in North Dakota. The grants could not be more than 50% of the machinery, equipment or software being purchased.
“We’ve had legislators reach out to us with interest in advancing and sponsoring a bill to run it into the future and create something or at least do another one-time funding,” said David Lehman, advanced manufacturing business development manager for the state Commerce Department.
The Automate ND Grant Program had 42 applicants with $13 million in requests in a three-month application window from 21 communities, said Shayden Akason, deputy director of economic development and finance with the state Commerce Department. He said 18 applicants were funded from 13 communities.
“It just showed the type of demand and interest that companies have in automation to help their workforce challenges,” he said. “ … The quality of those applications, we probably would have funded another dozen of them. That’s how good they were and that’s how competitive the process was.”
The state needs about 30,000 to 40,000 people to fill its workforce gap, Lehman said. He said the manufacturing sector has around 26,000 to 29,000 employees in the state.
“If you took every graduating high school student and every graduating college student, we still wouldn’t fill our workforce gap in North Dakota,” he said.
John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun
Lehman said there are three ways for the state to dig itself out of the workforce issue — improving processes, focusing on Visa workers and legal immigration to increase workforce and automation.
“If you can’t, if you can’t improve your processes, you can’t get enough people, then you have to automate it,” he said.
Lehman said automation can be difficult in the short term because the state doesn’t have a strong infrastructure for it and the upfront costs are more expensive.
“But in the long term, so North Dakota, who has consistently been in the top three lowest unemployment states since the Bakken hit, has the opportunity,” he said. “So it’s painful now, but as we automate, it should make us more productive and better.”
Akason said workforce is the No. 1 challenge to expansion and economic development in North Dakota. He said the one-time Automate ND Grant Program was created to help alleviate the workforce shortage and keep manufacturers competitive so they can maintain or expand their market share.
Masaki Ova joined The Jamestown Sun in August 2021 as a reporter. He grew up on a farm near Pingree, N.D. He majored in communications at the University of Jamestown, N.D.
HANKINSON, N.D. — Investigators are working to determine the cause of a fire at St. Philip’s Catholic Church in Hankinson, which broke out late Wednesday afternoon, Dec .16.
Fire crews from multiple agencies responded to the 114-year-old church at about 4:30 p.m. Smoke could be seen billowing from the bell tower as firefighters worked for over two and a half hours to contain the fire.
Hankinson Fire Chief Josh Lenzen said the call came in after someone noticed smoke coming from the building.
“I believe it was reported as someone driving by, seeing smoke coming from the vents in the attic area,” Lenzen said.
The church, which is undergoing a $2 million renovation, suffered smoke and structural damage. The fire appeared to originate in the attic near a stained-glass window, according to Lenzen. Crews used a ladder truck from the Wahpeton Fire Department to access the church’s roof.
“The attic area had vents that were not close-able, and some of the access areas to the top of the attic area, it’s a very steep roof, high roof, and only one access point to get into it,” Lenzen said.
Firefighters faced windy conditions, but Lenzen said wind did not play a significant role in battling the blaze.
The fire comes as the church community prepares for Christmas services. Lenzen noted that while plans are still uncertain, the congregation will have options for worship.
Crews from Hankinson, Lidgerwood, Fairmount, and Wahpeton assisted in extinguishing the fire. The North Dakota Fire Marshal’s Office is leading the investigation. More details are expected to be released Thursday, Dec. 17.
No injuries were reported.
The church was originally built in 1908, with construction finished in 1910.
Hankinson is about 64 miles south of Fargo.
Isak Dinesen joined WDAY-TV as a reporter in September 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist at WAOW-TV in Wausau, Wisconsin for three years. He graduated from NDSU in 2020, majoring in Journalism and minoring in Sports Communication at MSUM.
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