North Dakota Democrats field more challengers for legislative seats

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — North Dakota’s Democratic-NPL Party is seeing an uptick in legislative candidates, and leaders report higher interest from members wanting to attend the party’s state convention.

But other than three candidates for North Dakota’s sole U.S. House seat, Democrats have yet to announce campaigns for statewide office.

Twelve Democratic candidates received endorsements from districts in the Bismarck-Mandan area earlier this month, the most since 2016 when 11 regional Democratic candidates were endorsed.

“We’re quite excited about the prospect of a very unified, coordinated campaign with all of our legislative candidates in the Bismarck-Mandan area,” said Bob Valeu, chair of the Bismarck-Mandan Dem-NPL organization.

North Dakota Republicans hold a supermajority in the state Legislature, outnumbering Democrats 42-5 in the Senate and 83-11 in the House. In the Bismarck-Mandan area, which has not elected a Democrat to the Legislature since 2018, some legislative districts have struggled to recruit Democratic candidates.

Bob Valeu, chair of the Bismarck-Mandan Dem-NPL organization, speaks to attendees of the Democratic-NPL Party Region 6 District Conventions at Horizon Middle School on Feb. 7, 2026. (Photo by Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

This year, however, Democrats have legislative candidates running in all but one regional district. Valeu said attendance at the district conventions nearly quadrupled from recent years with new people participating in the process. He estimated about 300 people showed up to a combined event Feb. 7.

A Democrat running for state House in District 7 is Jason Thoms, executive director of the Dakota West Arts Council. If the free school meals ballot initiative makes it onto the general election ballot, Thoms anticipates that could drive more people to vote in November, potentially giving Democratic candidates an advantage.

“People are frustrated in our community with the idea that to be a Republican means you have to dislike and hate the people in your community,” Thoms said. “We could have a number of Democratic candidates who are victorious in this next election, and it’s worth taking the time to go visit people home to home.”

Districts 1 and 23 in the Williston area recently endorsed three Democrats for six legislative seats. Neither district fielded any Dem-NPL legislative candidates in 2022. District 1 Democrats filled all seven of its delegate spots for the state convention in Bismarck.

“I’ve been with the Democratic Party here in District 1 for decades, and I can’t remember the last time we’ve filled that delegation,” said Bruce Anderson, district chair.

Many of the issues participants brought up at the local convention reflected national issues, including affordability, health care, education, immigration enforcement and the Jeffrey Epstein files, he said.

“Our congressional delegation aren’t addressing any of these issues and their silence is deafening, and I think that’s resonating with the people,” Anderson said.

Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, said District 11 Democrats had a stronger turnout at their recent meeting than in “probably a decade.”

“I am hoping that this demonstrates a resurgence on the part of our citizens,” said Mathern, who is seeking reelection.

In District 13 in West Fargo, Republican legislative candidates ran unopposed four years ago. But this year, District 13 Democrats endorsed three candidates, including state Senate candidate Landis Larson, who recently retired as president of the North Dakota AFL-CIO.

“I saw the biggest turnout I’ve seen in all the time I’ve gone to those things, which has been quite a while,” Larson said. “There’s a lot more excitement, and I think the political landscape has got people wound up.”

North Dakota Republicans also are showing strong interest in legislative races, with some districts expected to have Republican challengers at the June primary. The election picture will become more clear after districts complete their endorsing conventions. Legislators in odd-numbered districts are up for election this year, along with two even-numbered districts that have two-year terms on the ballot due to lawmaker resignations. Legislators who have filed for office so far are listed on the secretary of state’s website.

Three Democrats, Trygve Hammer, Vern Thompson and Helene Neville, have announced campaigns for U.S. House. Republican Rep. Julie Fedorchak is running for a second term, and Republican Alex Balazs has also announced a campaign.

Democrats have not yet announced campaigns to challenge any other Republican incumbents for statewide elected office. A Democrat has not won a statewide race in North Dakota since 2012, when U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp narrowly defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Rick Berg. In some years, Democrats have not had candidates on the ballot for all statewide offices.

In 2024, some Democrats did not announce campaigns until the party’s state convention. That year, the party did not field candidates for insurance commissioner or state treasurer, but ran candidates for other positions.

Cheryl Biller, executive director for the Democratic-NPL Party, said talks with potential statewide candidates are ongoing.

“We absolutely expect to have more statewide candidates by the time we get to convention,” Biller said.

Statewide offices up for election in 2026 are secretary of state, attorney general, agriculture commissioner, tax commissioner, two Public Service Commission seats and superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction, a nonpartisan position.

Democrats hold their state convention March 6-8 at Bismarck State College. Fourteen districts have reported full slates of delegates for the convention with a few weeks to go, said Laura Dronen, communications and digital director.

“Things are filling up faster,” Dronen said.

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