NDGOP Seeks Removal of Ineligible State Insurance Commissioner Candidate From November Ballot
Today, North Dakota Republican Party Chairman Rick Berg announced that the NDGOP would be filing a petition with the North Dakota Supreme Court asking for ineligible State Insurance Commissioner candidate Travisia Martin to be removed from the November ballot.
State Party Response Regarding Convention
Regarding an attempt to convene a convention, pursuant to NDGOP rules, only the Chairman and Executive Committee can issue a call for convention and must do so 90 days in advance. Due to COVID-19, that was not practically possible within the time constraints necessary to conduct the normal business of a convention.
June 2020 Newsletter
I hope this update finds you well and in good health. What a year 2020 has been so far! I don’t think any of us could have predicted that the biggest election of our lifetime would be occurring amid a global pandemic.
I have been so impressed with not just resiliency of North Dakotans during this tumultuous time, but also with the patience and enthusiasm of our Republican members. When our State Convention – a long-anticipated event – was cancelled, you and the rest of our delegates came together to continue the important work of our Party by mail. We then mobilized to get-out-the-vote despite the change with the all-mail primary. What a primary we had, Republicans turned out 3:1 compared to Democrats, It shows the confidence they have in Republican leadership continuing to govern North Dakota.
Click here to download our June 2020 newsletter.
NDGOP Releases Results from Mail-In Convention Election
Today, the North Dakota Republican Party announced that it had completed the tally for the absentee ballots submitted as part of the alternative voting measures adopted by the Executive Committee and State Committee in response to the cancellation of the State Convention. Delegates who kept their paid registrations were eligible to participate in the election.
NDGOP Re-Elects Chairman Rick Berg
BISMARCK – Today, members of the North Dakota Republican Party (NDGOP) State Committee unanimously elected Rick Berg to his first full-term as Chairman. Berg was first elected to the role in March of 2018 and served the remainder of Congressman Kelly Armstrong’s term as Chairman.
“I am grateful to have the full support of the NDGOP State Committee to continue serving as Chairman,” said Chairman Berg. “Together our Republican team has accomplished a great deal, and I look forward to working with NDGOP members and our elected leadership on another successful gubernatorial election cycle. As we lead into the 2020 elections, we will build upon our historic efforts to grow our Party, engage with voters and make the case for Republican leadership.”
About Chairman Berg
Under the leadership of Chairman Berg, the NDGOP has made its largest-ever investment in a field program designed to connect directly with voters and secured an entirely Republican federal delegation. Governor Burgum asked Chairman Berg to continue leading the NDGOP through the 2020 election cycle and thanks him for his record of results for the Republican Party.
Rick served in the North Dakota Legislature for 26 years as Speaker of the House, Majority Leader, Caucus Chairman and Chairman of the Business Committee. In 2010, Rick was elected to the US House of Representatives where he served on the House Ways and Means Committee with a focus on taxation and budget. Rick currently serves as the President of Berg Group, LLC which focuses on developing commercial real estate partnerships.
In early 2018, Rick was elected to serve as the Chairman of the North Dakota Republican Party. Rick and his wife Tracy reside in Fargo.
NDGOP Leadership
First Vice Chair: John Trandem (Newly Elected)
Second Vice Chair: Carma Hanson (Re-elected)
Treasurer: Nick Hacker (Re-elected)
Secretary: Kyle Handegaard (Re-elected)
New Ad: Can’t Do the Math
The North Dakota Republican Party released a new ad today to highlight that while Republican Majorities are hard at work — Democrats are once again trying to raise taxes.
“Republicans in both chambers are hard at work for North Dakota,” said North Dakota Republican Party Chief of Staff Dawson Schefter. “Meanwhile, Democrats have their sights set on raising taxes — trouble is, they can’t seem to get the math right.”
Background:
- The North Dakota Legislature has adjourned for its crossover recess — marking the halfway point of the 66th Legislative Assembly.
- Senator Merrill Piepkorn and Rep. Pamela Anderson each introduced legislation to raise the oil extraction tax.
- Over the past five years, North Dakota’s oil industry has paid 50 percent of all taxes collected in the state.
- Democrats have been parroting these talking points since 2015 — yet this political theatre has been rejected by voters time and again.
- Republicans have been hard at work, taking steps forward on:
- Developing a strong workforce
- Diversifying our economy
- Improving our infrastructure network
- Reducing taxes
- Improving behavioral health services
- Republican policies continue to benefit the individuals, families, and businesses of North Dakota — making our state the best place to live and work.
Transcript:
Senator Merrill Piepkorn: “I’m going to walk in the first day and say ‘Okay, ladies and gentleman, here I am. Let’s raise those taxes today.’”
Senator Merrill Piepkorn: “I will admit, I’ve got fuzzy math going on here.”
Senator Merrill Piepkorn: “Senator Cook, I do not understand that. I would appreciate that if you could explain that to me.”
Senator Dwight Cook: “Zero percent tax is going to raise a lot less money than five percent tax. Do we agree?”
Senator Merrill Piepkorn: “Uhm, I still don’t quite follow.”
Senator Dwight Cook: “So that is another tax increase…”
Senator Merrill Piepkorn: “That is, well. That is an increase, yeah.”
Senator Merrill Piepkorn: “Let’s raise those taxes today.”
FEEL THE BERN…in Bismarck?
As North Dakota Democrats double-down on their embrace of socialism, Bernie Sander’s campaign announced they think they’ve got a shot at winning North Dakota. Since Democrats announced their support for socialism in a Facebook Post on Saturday, they have twice doubled-down on this radical, liberal movement:
Meanwhile, North Dakota’s Republican elected leaders are weighing in to condemn this ridiculous and frightening rhetoric:
“North Dakota Democrats clearly plan to unabashedly embrace the radical left’s calls for socialism,” said North Dakota Republican Party Chief of Staff Dawson Schefter. “I look forward to the next election, when North Dakotans reject this extreme rhetoric at the ballot box.”
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North Dakota Democratic-Socialist Party? Unfriend.
Earlier today, North Dakota Democrats confirmed voters suspicions and endorsed the radical, socialist agenda of the liberal left. In a Facebook post on Saturday, the District 42 Democrat Party shared a letter to the editor in the Grand Forks Herald titled, “Socialism U.S. style: The need of our time” with the caption “Bravo!”

“This is just the latest in a string of tone deaf attempts by Democrats to pull North Dakota toward the radical, socialist agenda of the liberal left,” said North Dakota Republican Party Chief of Staff Dawson Schefter. “If North Dakota Democrats continue to support socialist policies, they will no doubt lead their party toward further obscurity.”
- Medicare for all — REMINDER: Obamacare hascreatedhigher premiums and fewer choices for North Dakotans while shifting the burden of cost onto small businesses and farmers.
- Free college tuition — REMINDER: Bernie Sanders lost. (Thankfully)
- The Green New Deal — REMINDER: Here is what the Green New Deal calls for:
- End all clean coal, natural gas, nuclear power production in the U.S.
- Require upgrading or replacing every building in the country
- Mandate government-provided healthcare, wages, paid vacations, retirement benefits, housing, food, college, “access to nature”, and employment for those “unwilling to work”
- Eliminate air travel and farting cows…Seriously.
- Oh, and of course, there’s zero mention of how they would pay for any of this. Shocker.
- Repealing the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — REMINDER: North Dakota was the number one state to benefit from President Trump’s Tax Cuts.
turned down for what?
Facebook just forced the Heidi Heitkamp-funded Democrat-NPL ads to be taken down because they were clearly nothing more than a thinly-veiled voter suppression effort:
As Rob Port who first wrote this story says, Heitkamp and her party “weren’t trying to inform hunters. They were trying to confuse them, and deter them from voting.”
What Heidi Heitkamp hasn’t deleted, however, is her lie about the Casselton soybeans, which Heitkamp said were unsold and had no place to go, even though they had been sold and are now being picked up for delivery.
“Heidi Heitkamp’s lies, amid her ‘bring it home’ tour, are making it clear to voters that her real home is with the other dishonest liberals in Washington DC, not with North Dakotans,” said North Dakota Republican Party Communications Director Jake Wilkins. “North Dakotans know that if Heitkamp can’t be trusted to tell the truth, she shouldn’t be trusted with six more years in the Senate.”
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when “bring it home!” becomes “make it stop!”
Coverage of the Heidi Heitkamp-funded voter suppression efforts by North Dakota Democrats continued to overshadow her own de-facto farewell tour yesterday, as the scandal dominated local and national airwaves:
Fox News
KFYR (NBC)
KXJB (CBS)
REMINDER: Heidi Heitkamp and the Democratic-NPL defended this blatant voter suppression and doubled down, even as multiple fact-checkers found the ad to be completely false:
Given her long list of falsehoods on issues like health care, trade, entitlements, and outing sexual assault victims, these events are just more proof that Heidi Heitkamp’s entire campaign platform is built on nothing more than lies, misinformation, and manufactured controversy.
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