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.
A national banking official said he looks to North Dakota’s oil industry for clues about the health of the region’s economy.
“The Bakken, and North Dakota, is very interesting in giving me insight into what’s happening here and what it means for the broader economy,” Neel Kashkari said Thursday, May 16, while speaking at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck.
Kashkari is president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, which serves North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, as well as part of Wisconsin and Michigan. The Federal Reserve Banks are independent financial institutions that manage the U.S. economy.
In ordinary circumstances, when the economy is healthy, unemployment is low and the average rate of inflation is about 2%. However, if one of those factors is thrown out of whack, the Federal Reserve may decide to intervene.
“If the economy is growing too slowly, we will traditionally cut interest rates to try to give it a boost,” Kashkari said. “If the economy is overheating and inflation is too high, like recent experience, we will raise interest rates to try to tap the brakes in the economy to bring inflation back down.”
The Federal Reserve conducts extensive research to help inform those decisions, he said — including looking at employment trends in the Bakken.
“There have been times when the labor market here is incredibly tight, and it’s not been so tight around the U.S. economy, and you’re drawing in workers from all over America to come here — creating opportunity, high wages, and also challenges here in the local economy,” Kashkari said of North Dakota.
Michael Achterling / North Dakota Monitor
Recently, that hasn’t been the case, though. The whole country has had more jobs available than workers to fill them.
“If you have a particularly hot sector, you can’t simply draw workers from the rest of the country, because everyone around the rest of the country also has tight labor markets,” he said.
According to Kashkari, tribal economies are another important part of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve’s research. That’s because even when the U.S. economy is strong, tribes often face barriers that prevent them from accessing that wealth.
Their hope is to identify policies that governments can use to break down those barriers.
“Tribal economies have a unique set of challenges,” Kashkari said. “The economy may do well, different businesses may do well, and we still have people who are not participating in our economy.”
So where is the U.S. economy right now?
A mix of factors — including COVID-19, supply chain issues, an increased demand for consumer goods and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — caused global inflation to surge in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
These days, however, the economy is doing pretty well, Kashkari said.
Nationwide unemployment is relatively low — it was under 4% as of the end of April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And while inflation is still rising more quickly than ideal at around 3.5%, it’s a far cry from its peak of 9% in late 2022.
Consumer spending is also strong.
“As much gloom as there appears to be when people are surveyed about how they feel about the economy, most people are spending like they feel pretty good about the economy,” he said. “If you go on airplanes, they’re usually full. If you go to restaurants, they’re usually full. If you go to a hotel, they’re usually busy.”
The housing market has been unexpectedly resilient, too, he said. It’s remained competitive even after a series of mortgage hikes by the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage hovered around 3% before 2022, but is about 7.5% today.
“We think that there’s a pent-up demand for housing,” Kashkari said. “There’s been a pent-up shortage of housing across our economy for the last decade.”
The conference, which has more than 2,200 attendees, continues through Thursday.
This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com
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This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here.
Extensive election-year resources have been updated and launched on Forum Communications Co. websites to provide voters with timely information about candidates, the voting process and news stories about the election.
The
free voter’s guide
allows users to enter an address to create a sample ballot with the races and candidates on the June 11 ballot. All candidates across the state — in local, state and federal races — received an invitation to participate by uploading a photo, biographical details including campaign links, and answers to several questions.
This marks the third election cycle in which Forum Communications partnered with the League of Women Voters of North Dakota as part of its nationwide Vote411 initiative.
“Responding to VOTE411 is a great way for candidates to get their information out to voters,” Mary C. Tintes, LWVND vice president, said in a news release. “The upcoming June election is also city election day in North Dakota, and we want to make it easier for voters to learn about their local candidates who will serve in the city offices that are so important in our day-to-day lives.”
VOTE411.org is the League of Women Voters’ one-stop shop for nationwide voting and election information. Some of VOTE411’s key features are candidate and statewide ballot measure information, voter ID information, absentee ballot information, and a polling place locator.
Since 2020, Forum Communications has collaborated with LWVND to give greater visibility to voters about the election process and candidates running for office. Candidate participation has grown each year and users across the state can find information about local candidates, provided the candidates participate.
“The voter’s guide and other resources available through our websites provide an important service to anyone casting a ballot this year,” said Steve Wagner, director of content operations for Forum Communications.
“We want to connect readers with the information they need about candidates and the election. It’s a role we take seriously as community journalists.”
In addition to the voter’s guide, Forum Communications also provides
an online page with answers to frequently asked questions
.
The page, along with stories about the election and candidates, can be found on the websites for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks Herald, Jamestown Sun and Dickinson Press.
Voting has already begun in North Dakota through absentee ballots, which need to be requested. Some counties also offer mail-in voting and early voting at designated locations.
To be eligible to vote in North Dakota, an individual must be a U.S. citizen, a resident in the state for at least 30 days, and at least 18 years old on Election Day. North Dakota does not have voter registration, but voters are required to present a valid ID to cast a ballot.
The voter’s guide will remain available through November’s general election. It will also include details about Minnesota races and candidates before the state’s Aug. 13 primary.
North Dakota
Northern Colorado baseball beats North Dakota State, qualifies for Summit League Tournament
The Northern Colorado baseball team qualified for the Summit League Tournament following a 5-2 win Friday over North Dakota State in Fargo, North Dakota.
The Bears started the day Friday with a one-half game lead on South Dakota State for the tournament’s fourth and final spot.
The University of Nebraska Omaha beat South Dakota State 10-2 earlier in the day Friday, which was Omaha’s second win in two days against the Jackrabbits. UNC started the weekend with a magic number of three games to clinch a playoff spot. After South Dakota State’s two losses Thursday and Friday, the Bears had to win either Friday night or Saturday’s season finale to eliminate the Jackrabbits.
The four-team, double-elimination Summit League Tournament is May 22-25 at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The league champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Northern Colorado is 12-16-1 in the league and 13-36-1 overall heading into the final game of the regular season against North Dakota State. UNC didn’t win a game in 21 non-conference games to start the season. The Bears’ first win of the year came March 22 at home against Omaha.
UNC starting pitcher Murphy Gienger matched a season high with seven innings pitched and six strikeouts, allowing two runs on four hits with one walk.
Caden Wagner had two hits with a double and two RBI, Kai Wagner, Caden’s brother, added two hits and an RBI and Jackson Romero also had two hits.
Omaha (16-12-1 in the league) heads into the final day of the regular season with the No. 1 seed for the league tournament.
League-leading St. Thomas (14-10) cannot compete in the league tournament as part of its transition to Division I.
Omaha and North Dakota State clinched spots in the league tournament and can still win the regular-season title after Friday’s games.
The league standings will be based on winning percentage because not all teams played the same number of games.
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