North Dakota sees more contested races for 2026 legislative elections

By:Michael Achterling

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – About a dozen North Dakota legislative districts will see Republican challenges in the June 9 primary, according to candidate filings that were due Monday.

Voters will decide the outcome of 74 legislative seats, 24 in the Senate and 50 in the House. Some districts, such as District 7 in Bismarck and District 13 in West Fargo, feature full competing slates of NDGOP candidates for their House and Senate races, highlighting the divide between traditional and populist Republican candidates.

The Democratic-NPL Party, meanwhile, had more than 55 candidates file to run for the Legislature as of Monday afternoon, an increase from two years ago. Republicans hold an 83-11 advantage in the House and a 42-5 advantage in the Senate in the Legislature.

A final number of candidates was not available Monday as the Secretary of State’s Office continued processing candidate petitions submitted before the 4 p.m. deadline.

District 7 Republican Sen. Michelle Axtman of Bismarck is among incumbents who gathered signatures to appear on the primary ballot rather than seek endorsement of her district, a trend that started in 2024 and has increased this year.

Axtman, who is seeking her second term, said she intends to win the Republican primary by meeting her constituents door-to-door, which gives her the opportunity to engage more voters than only those who show up to a district convention.

“It doesn’t seem like this year the district conventions that have been held have been a positive experience,” Axtman said during a February interview.

NDGOP District 7 Chair Jerri Hopfauf received the district’s endorsement for the Senate seat. Hopfauf said support from the local Republican Party is something that every candidate who represents the party should strive for.

“If you are not getting the endorsement then you should be asking yourself, ‘Why?’” Hopfauf said after the district’s endorsing convention on Feb. 23.

District 7 Republican House lawmakers, Jason Dockter and Matthew Heilman, are not running for reelection. Axtman is campaigning with House candidates Greg Vetter and Steve Sauter, while NDGOP District 7 endorsed former lawmaker Rick Becker and Gaylynn Becker for the seats.

Rick Becker, who led a conservative faction of the Legislature known as the Bastiat caucus, said he anticipates Republican candidates gathering signatures to be well-funded by political action committees to limit conservative candidate success in the primary.

“We want to make sure that that philosophy does not win and that the conservatives who are really going to be good stewards for taxpayers and the voters of North Dakota are the people that get in,” he said during the District 7 convention.

Vetter, a first-time candidate, said he believes contested primaries are healthy.

“Now that we’ve voted for term limits, we’re going to have to accept more and more people that are new to the process,” Vetter said. “It’s important for our state to have dialogue about issues and have races that are competitive. I think it makes us all better.”

In West Fargo’s District 13, Republican incumbents Sen. Judy Lee and Reps. Jim Jonas and Austin Schauer are facing challengers endorsed by the district.

“I don’t think they’ve been lining up with the Republican Party platform,” said Russ Bubach, chair of NDGOP District 13 and candidate for state House, during a February interview. “There are some people within the district that have expressed that they would like to see some competition.”

Philip Sallberg is the district endorsed candidate for Senate while Everett Duckworth is running with Bubach for House.

Schauer pushed back against criticism that incumbent Republicans are not true conservatives.

“I’ve been conservative my whole life and then, all of a sudden, you are RINO of the week,” Schauer said, referring to Republican in name only. “I’ve just got to laugh at that.”

District 15, near Devils Lake, incumbents Sen. Kent Weston, Rep. Kathy Frelich and Rep. Donna Henderson have support from their district while newcomers Kristin Kenner and Corry Kenner are challenging them.

Kristin Kenner, a retired dentist, and her husband, Corry Kenner, who recently retired as vice president of administrative affairs for Lake Region State College, say they hope to bring a sense of normalcy back to the NDGOP instead of the more extreme views, like imposing religious beliefs into public schools or trying to ban books.

“I just feel like a lot of people are not being represented, like most of us,” Kristin Kenner said. “And I’ve been a Republican my whole life.”

Weston said he considers the Kenners as left-of-center Republicans, which he said reinforces the need for the NDGOP to have more influence over who uses the Republican brand during the primary process. However, he also said a primary challenge is good for the district because it makes candidates work harder campaigning and gives voters the ultimate choice.

Republicans in Mandan-area District 31 endorsed Kevin Remington and former lawmaker Jim Schmidt for House over incumbents Rep. Dawson Holle and Rep. Karen Rohr. Both incumbents submitted signatures to be on the primary ballot.

“We knew that there were four amazing candidates on the ballot and only two could get it that night,” Holle said on not receiving the endorsement of his district. “And I think the same is going to be said for the primary.”

Holle said gathering signatures allowed him to meet and get feedback from more of his constituents and potential primary voters.

“I think it’s really energizing,” he said.

Holle said he believes both methods to achieve primary ballot access, being endorsed by a political party or gathering petition signatures, should be protected going forward.

Delegates at the NDGOP state convention passed a resolution that called for the elimination of the partisan primary process and instead give political parties the ability to nominate candidates directly to the general election. The resolution is not binding, but supporters vowed to support legislation in 2027 to eliminate partisan primaries.

Another candidate who submitted signatures to get on the ballot is NDGOP District 23 Chair Corey Johnson. The Williston man is challenging his own district’s endorsed House candidates after failing to secure the party’s endorsement.

“I put a lot of thought, a lot of work, into making the decision, so giving up, I don’t think that was an option for me,” Johnson said.

He said any 2026 election-related matters for the district will be handled by the district’s vice chair to avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest.

NDGOP District 23 endorsed incumbents Sen. Todd Beard and Rep. Dennis Nehring, as well as Sharlet Mohr, a former Republican U.S. House candidate in 2024, who received 1% of the statewide vote during the primary election.

A special election for District 26, near Watford City, will also be on the ballot to replace former lawmaker Jeremy Olson who resigned after a harassment complaint was made against him. Another special election will be held in District 42, near Grand Forks, to replace former lawmaker Emily O’Brien who was appointed deputy commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Several legislative leaders decided not to seek reelection this year, including House Majority Leader Rep. Mike Lefor of Dickinson, Rep. Don Vigesaa, R-Cooperstown, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo, and House Minority Leader Zac Ista, R-Grand Forks.

One Democratic challenge

The Democratic-NPL Party features a single contested Senate race in District 9 between the Dem-NPL endorsed incumbent Sen. Richard Marcellais, D-Belcourt, and Rep. Jayme Davis, D-Rolette, who submitted signatures to gain access to Senate race.

Marcellais did not return requests for comment.

Davis confirmed she submitted candidate paperwork but her name was not yet on the Secretary of State’s candidate list as of Monday afternoon. Davis said she sees the 2026 election as a “change” election, and she believes strong voices will be needed in the Legislature to represent Native American communities. She applauded other Dem-NPL candidates who have decided to run this year.

“I hope people stop looking at the letter behind someone’s name and start looking to the actual person and their ideas,” Davis said.