FARGO (KFGO) – A former State Representative and State Senator who served northeastern North Dakota is in the race for the state’s congressional seat.
Vern Thompson of Fargo is the second Democrat to enter the race to challenge first-term Republican Rep. Julie Fedorchak. Trygye Hammer of Minot got into the race for the nomination last month.
Thompson says he knows he’ll be outspent by the incumbent, who has about $1 million heading into the re-election campaign.
“That’s what she’s doing is she’s buying her message because she’s been a failure on kitchen table issues for working families,” Thompson says. “I’m going to go out from community to community. We’ve got social media that we can utilize now that we haven’t in the past and I’m just going to outwork her because there’s people that deserve to be heard. And, I’m going to try to bring in as many people from all sides of the aisle.”
Thompson says he thinks Fedorchak has failed North Dakota on a number of fronts, including a lack of public appearances.
Thompson says it was a major life decision to enter the race.
“It feels right,” Thompson says. “I’ve done a lot of praying and talking to people and contemplating. The way the country is right now and… there’s people struggling in the state of North Dakota that aren’t being heard. They aren’t getting response from their Congressional delegation, including Julie Fedorchak. It just feels right and I’m going to go with it. I’m going to speak honesty. I’m going to speak truth. I’m going to speak transparency. I’m going to go out and listen to the people.”
Thompson spent seven years in radio, first in Fargo when he was the producer of Ed Schultz’s show on KFGO and later as Schultz’s program manager when the show was syndicated nationally. He and his wife own and operate a trucking company.
Thompson hauls petroleum products in the oil patch.
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