North Dakota House majority leader announces retirement from Legislature

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) North Dakota’s House majority leader will not seek reelection this fall after representing the Dickinson area for more than a decade in the Legislature.

Rep. Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, issued a statement Tuesday evening announcing he will retire after his term ends at the end of November.

“I’ve been in public service for almost 40 years,” Lefor said in an interview Wednesday. “My family has had to step up to the plate in the business and different events, and I didn’t want that to really continue because I need to do my share in our family businesses.”

Lefor said his family owns some rental property companies that they are looking to expand, and he wants to spend more time with his family.

“I’ve got two grandkids and I think I’m going to set a world record in pitching wiffle ball this summer,” Lefor said.

Politics and ideological divisions within the Republican party played no role in his decision to retire, he said. The state party convention got off to a slow start in 2024 when some members challenged the credentials of delegates from District 37, including Lefor.

“If you are there for the right reasons, and that’s creating good public policy and smart budgetary decisions, and you maintain your focus with that, the politics is just noise,” Lefor said.

Lefor set the tone for the House as majority leader in 2023 and 2025 legislative sessions. He also chaired Legislative Management in 2023 and served as a member of the Emergency Commission.

Prior to being elected to the Legislature, Lefor began his public service career on his local park board in 1986 at age 29. He was appointed to the Dickinson Planning and Zoning Commission in 1988, a role he kept for the next 15 years.

House Minority Leader Rep. Zac Ista, D-Grand Forks, said Lefor maintained a “friendly and collaborative” relationship with House Democratic-NPL members.

“Leadership turnover with term limits is going to happen much more often,” he said. “Hopefully, folks can look at the example that Mike Lefor set, that Chet Pollert set before him, to have that kind of collaborative leadership, especially when we are in this reality of a super majority and a super minority.”

Republicans hold a 83-11 advantage over Democrats in the North Dakota House and a 42-5 advantage in the Senate. Odd-numbered districts, including Lefor’s, are up for reelection in 2026.

Lefor said he tried to keep the Legislature focused on delivering the best public policy it could for North Dakotans.

“I’m grateful that the citizens of District 37, and my hometown, elected me to public office,” Lefor said. “I sincerely hope that the policies that we have enacted over the last several years are going to benefit North Dakotans for generations to come.”

North Dakota Monitor reporter Michael Achterling can be reached at machterling@northdakotamonitor.com.