Former Sen. Judy Estenson, R-Warwick, participates in a legislative committee meeting on Oct. 31, 2024. Estenson is running for election in District 15. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
WARWICK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – Former North Dakota state senator Judy Estenson lives in District 9 but is running for state Senate in District 15, citing uncertainty around a redistricting decision.
Estenson of Warwick is a former Republican lawmaker for District 15, but the district boundaries changed in 2023 as a result of a voting rights lawsuit. That case, brought by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and the Spirit Lake Nation, led to a 2023 ruling by a federal judge that imposed new district maps, shifting Estenson into District 9.
An appeals court overturned Welte’s ruling last year, a decision the tribes have since asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review. The high court has not decided whether it will hear the lawsuit.
Estenson, who lost a special election to represent District 9 in 2024, said she’s hopeful the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold the appeals court ruling, which would make her a District 15 resident.
“I’m tired of waiting, and I’m tired of sitting out and wondering what’s going to happen, so I just said, ‘I’m going to run in 15 and, if I win the primary and I have to move into the district, I will do so,’” she said.
She said the Supreme Court is also considering a similar redistricting case from Louisiana that may influence the North Dakota case.
Secretary of State Michael Howe said it is legal for Estenson to run for office in District 15 as long as she establishes residency in the district before the general election, if she should win the primary.
“The primary is a nomination for these partisan races, it’s not the end-all-be-all, so you can be residing outside of the jurisdiction of which you are seeking in a primary election,” Howe said. “For the November election, the (state) constitution says you must be living in that jurisdiction on the date of the election.”
It takes 30 days of residency to be established as a qualified elector in North Dakota. Howe added a similar situation occurred during the 2024 election when a Bismarck-area Democratic-NPL Senate candidate needed to establish residency prior to the general election.
Estenson received 66% of voter support in 2022 when she defeated Democrat Collette Brown, now a member of the state House who’s seeking reelection.
In 2024, Estenson lost to Sen. Richard Marcellais, D-Belcourt, with 39% voter support after redistricting shifted her to District 9.
The tribes’ lawsuit alleged that a district map approved by the Legislature diluted the voting power of Native American voters. After his 2023 ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Peter Welte ordered the new map be put in place to address the tribes’ concerns.
District 9 voters in 2024 elected an all-Democrat legislative delegation.
Estenson, who serves as chair of District 9 Republicans, said she doesn’t think it’s possible for a Republican to win in District 9 as the boundaries are drawn now. She said she’s worked for 40 years in Ramsey County and greater Devils Lake, and District 15 feels like her home.
“It’s the people I know. It’s where my kids went to school. I have church community there and it feels like it’s my district,” she said.
Two other Republicans are running for District 15 Senate, incumbent Sen. Kent Weston of Sarles and Kristin Kenner of Devils Lake, a retired dentist who is a first-time legislative candidate. The redistricting case shifted Weston from District 9 to 15. Democrats do not have a candidate for Senate in District 15. Republicans don’t have candidates for the Legislature in District 9.
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