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.
MCHENRY, N.D. — A 58-year-old man was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash Saturday, May 30, south of Devils Lake.
According to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, a Neche man was riding a 2017 Harley Davidson Tri Glide Ultra Trike eastbound on Highway 15 at an unknown speed, 11 miles northwest of McHenry. The trike struck an area of broken payment and rolled over.
The driver was not wearing a helmet and was seriously injured. He was taken by air ambulance to Sanford Medical Center in Fargo.
The Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
McHenry is located in Foster County, roughly equidistant between Jamestown and Devils Lake.
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.
“The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.” Genesis 12:7
These verses have been used to justify all kinds of land disputes in the Middle East. Indeed, I have heard people in Christian circles in our own country use this verse to justify their support for Israel in wars to preserve “their” God-given land, because the Israelites were the children of Abram (later called Abraham).
While that is true, Abraham was the father of two sons: Ishmael and Isaac. Jewish and Christian believers consider themselves descendants of Abraham through Isaac. Muslim believers consider themselves descendants of Abraham through Ishmael. Therefore, the land God gave to Abraham, and his descendants is not Jewish land, Muslim land or Christian land. It belongs to all of these “cousins” who believe in God/Yahweh/Allah (etc.….).
One of the most alarming trends in the world of faith is the rise of religious nationalism. According to Wikipedia, “religious nationalism is the fusion of national identity with religious beliefs, where a nation is defined by a shared faith, and religion serves as a central pillar of its political and social life. It seeks to align government policies and laws with religious doctrines.” This happens among all of the cousins of Abraham’s descendants. There are Islamic nationalists, Jewish Zionists, and Christian nationalists, and they are all dangerous.
In the same way Zionists will claim the Middle East as given to them by God, religious nationalists use the beliefs and texts (Bible, Koran) out of context to rationalize their political views, policies and even wars. They attempt to convince people that one political viewpoint supports their faith, and others do not. In the United States, Christian nationalism is on the rise. Politicians repeatedly use scripture to support their policies and ideals, attempting to convince us that what they are doing is the “Christian” thing to do, when, in fact, quite often these policies and ideals not only have nothing to do with the Christian faith, but they also occasionally go completely against it.
I once heard a state politician say, “It’s my God-given right to carry a gun.” Say WHAT??? God did not give anyone the right to carry a gun. Period. That’s just foolishness. And nobody even commented about it, which tells me it doesn’t bother us to hear people say things like that.
Our faith in God, no matter which branch of the family tree we come from, should “inform” our political and ethical views, but we cannot become like other countries and base our laws on one religious belief or another. Especially in a country where we are diverse in our religious beliefs. This is not a “Christian” nation, a “Muslim” nation or a “Jewish” nation. It is a nation of people who come from all kinds of faith traditions, and we are promised the freedom to practice our religion, no matter what it is.
God gave the descendants of Abraham – all of the descendants of Abraham — blessings too numerous to mention. We can be grateful for those blessings without trying to claim all of them as our own.
Rev. Janel F. Kolar is the pastor at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Dickinson, North Dakota.
BISMARCK — Fargo Shanley shined in a battle of unbeatens Saturday afternoon at Sanford Sports Complex, while unseating the defending state champion.
The Deacons got goals from Carly Hulstein, Emma Rohrich and Annie Yablonski to earn a 3-0 victory against Mandan for the North Dakota girls soccer state championship.
Shanley completed its unbeaten season, while shutting out defending champ Mandan for the first time this spring.
“The girls were excited to play Mandan, two undefeated teams and someone had to come out as the winner,” Deacons head coach Ryan Christianson said. “Whoever worked the hardest was going to come out champions, our girls were hungry.”
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
The Deacons (13-0-4) won their first state crown since 2019 and third overall. Mandan (17-0-1) fell one win shy of a repeat.
“Tough game, I felt like we controlled the game, to be honest,” Mandan head coach Aaron McElwee said. “We knew they would be dangerous on set pieces and that’s what they created.”
Shanley converted on a corner kick in the opening half for what proved to be the game-winning goal. Hulstein got a late head touch on a corner off the foot Rohrich, giving the Deacons a 1-0 lead with 16 minutes remaining until halftime.
“The first goal in the first half, that sparked momentum,” Christianson said. “Coming off of last year, we scored a bunch of corners, but this year I think we only had one or two. To make it count in the state championship game, I’ll take it.”
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
The first insurance goal for the Deacons came with less than 18 minutes left in the second, as Rohrich scored off a rebound.
“That second goal was a hustle effort by Emma with an awesome finish,” Christianson said. “Emma was locked in from yesterday’s game, two goals sparked the fire and led into today. She deserved that one.”
Yablonski, a freshman, scored her first varsity goal for a 3-0 lead with 1 minute, 31 seconds remaining, as Mandan tried to apply pressure late.
“Annie with the cherry on top with the deep ball after the goalie was pushed up to help her team,” Christianson said. “That’s a way to start off your varsity career. She was close earlier in the game with a shot that went wide of the post, but that was a heads-up play by her, noticing the goalie was out.”
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
Mandan’s best chance came from senior Sarah Helderop, off a corner kick in the second half, but Shanley goalkeeper Kailey Ottmar knocked the ball down and grabbed the rebound before any Braves players could arrive.
“Kailey was focused from the beginning of the game, usually I talk to her a bit, but she wanted to be by herself,” Christianson said. “She didn’t have to do too much, but there was a corner, a free kick. She was heads-up and had a good handle on the ball.”
Ottmar finished with six saves to earn the shutout. Gabby Frohlich had three saves for Mandan.
“Congrats to Shanley,” McElwee said. “We were close.”
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
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