BISMARCK, N.D. โ John Hoeven has spent more than two decades handily winning the support of delegates to the stateโs Republican Party convention, first as governor and later as a U.S. senator. This year, though, may be different.
Hoeven faces a challenge from state Rep. Rick Becker, the leader of a growing faction of ultraconservatives that has made waves at small district GOP gatherings in recent weeks, including one event where Hoevenโs wife was heckled.
โI donโt want to come out as anti-Hoeven but Becker represents what we want better than our senator in Washington,โ said Jay Lundeen, chairman of a Minot-area district who said its 35 delegates โoverwhelminglyโ endorsed Becker.
โWe want the party to go back to basics and follow our platform.โ
Betting against Hoeven winning endorsement again โ perhaps easily โ would be perilous. Hoeven, 65, is the only governor in state history who won three four-year terms. He also got former President Donald Trumpโs endorsement shortly before the convention.
โAcross the board, Iโm conservative,โ Hoeven said in an interview ahead of the convention. โI am fighting for conservative principles and I have all along.โ
And he downplayed any concern about the endorsement.
โ(Becker) is going to have good support and we expect that,โ Hoeven said. โI got a really good team. Weโre working hard and getting good response.โ
Becker, 57, of Bismarck, is a plastic surgeon, commercial real estate developer, and former gubernatorial candidate. After he was elected to the state House in 2012, he founded the ultraconservative Bastiat Caucus, fervent supporters of limited government and spending and privacy and gun rights.
Some Bastiats were linked to a petition drive to term-limit North Dakota legislators that failed earlier this month to get enough legitimate signatures to make the November ballot. Bastiats also argued unsuccessfully against the expulsion of one of their members, Rep. Luke Simons, over allegations of sexual harassment.
Becker, who calls Hoeven a โbig government, big spending, corporate welfare Republican,โ downplayed Trumpโs endorsement.
โIn the big picture, it doesnโt change anything,โ Becker said. โPeople in D.C. and Mar-a-Lago have no idea whatโs going on in North Dakota. There is a movement.โ
Becker said he doesnโt know how many delegates will support him, but predicted a โvery, very closeโ endorsement battle. Whatever the outcome, he said, rank-and-file Republicans have taken notice of ultraconservatives pushing the party in a new direction.
Lundeen, the Minot-area chairman, said conservatives like him are motivated by the erosion of individualsโ rights such as mask mandates and runaway federal spending. He pointed to heavy spending on pandemic relief and President Joe Bidenโs administrationโs trillion-dollar infrastructure bill where 19 Republicans โ including Hoven and North Dakota U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer โ joined 50 Democrats and independents to vote in favor of the legislation.
โAll it does is put us in a hole,โ Lundeen said. โWe canโt spend ourselves into prosperity.โ
Hoeven, he said, โmay be voting right but he tiptoes on the issues โ heโs got to walk a little firmerโ to better appeal to the growing ultra-conservative movement in the state.
State GOP Chairman Perrie Schafer was unhappy when Hoevenโs wife, Mikey, was heckled by Becker supporters at a GOP district meeting in Bismarck. The senator wasnโt present. Schafer said itโs โnot the way any Republican should actโ and said he hopes thereโs nothing similar at the state convention.
Hoeven doesnโt need the endorsement to run in a primary โ candidates only need petition signatures from 300 voters to make the ballot. And if Becker were to pull off an upset, Hoeven need only look to Gov. Doug Burgum for an example of an unendorsed candidate who went on to win both a primary and a general election.
Becker has said he wonโt run if heโs not endorsed, while Hoeven wouldnโt say. The senator has more than $3 million on hand for a campaign, while Becker hasnโt yet filed campaign finance reports.
Should Hoeven lose the convention, his endorsement by Trump will appeal to many GOP voters in the electorate, Lundeen said.
โI could see Rick winning the convention but losing the primary,โ Lundeen said. โThat Trump thing carries a lot of weight and puts Rick in an uphill battle.โ
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