U.S. Secretary of the Interior Fires Up Crowd at North Dakota GOP Convention

Ryan Zinke endorses U.S. Representative Kevin Cramer for the U.S. Senate, talks about energy gains

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — With over 1600 Republican delegates in attendance, US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke fired up the crowd with a look back at his past.

“For those who don’t know, the Zinke family is from Lincoln, North Dakota, so it’s great to be home,” said Zinke.

One area Zinke says is important for the North Dakota economy is having a strong arsenal of natural resources.

“We can not be energy independent, we can not be energy dominant without using and leveraging our natural resources and North Dakota is certainly part of that,” said Zinke.

With major elections in the House and Senate on the horizon, the key note speaker says the influence of North Dakota is important to the health of Republican power.

“And North Dakota matters now not only in energy and spirit, but also North Dakota and Montana and South Dakota represent American values,” said Zinke.

Zinke also had a lot to say about US Congressman Kevin Cramer, who is running for a seat in the US Senate.

“Everyone knows Kevin. He’s extraordinarily well respected. He’s a friend, but more importantly, he represents the values of North Dakota because he does what he says he’s going to do,” said Zinke.

The US Representative was flattered by Zinke’s remarks.

“It’s always heartwarming. I know Ryan very well. We’re good friends. He came into Congress the term after I did. He really honored me by coming here, I felt pleased and special and a heart warm that he’d come and do this for me,” said Cramer.

In his speech, Zinke also said that he would not encourage sending troops into a foreign nation for a commodity that is grown in the United States.