MINOT, N.D. — For decades now, North Dakotans have entered every new election cycle with a question on their lips: Is this the year the state’s Democrats finally march back in from the cold, barren margins of relevance? So far, given some of the depressing outcomes Democrats are seeing in their local district conventions, the…
Plain Talk: Who Is Dr. Shelley Lenz, the Veterinarian Who Wants to Be Governor of North Dakota?
“I don’t have a party. I’m an independent.” That’s what Dr. Shelley Lenz told me on this episode of Plain Talk. Lenz is a veterinarian from western North Dakota who, despite her assertions of independence, is running for the North Dakota Democratic Party’s gubernatorial nomination. She said that part of the reason why she wants…
The World Is Run by Those Who Show Up
The world is run by those who show up, and North Dakota Democrats seem intent on mostly conceding the point. Continue reading…
Despite Impeachment and Scandal, Trump About as Popular as Ever With North Dakotans
A survey found that President Trump is enjoying a level of approval in our state which is pretty much identical to his vote outcome in 2016 when he earned early 63% of the North Dakota vote to Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton’s 27%. Continue reading…
Plain Talk: Does Marijuana Lead to Satanism?
David Owen, a pro-marijuana activist, working to put legalization of recreational pot on North Dakota’s 2020 ballot, says a Legislative study into how to handle legalization has gone “off the rails.” A meeting this week of the committee overseeing an interim study intended to look into the logistics of implementing legal recreational marijuana policy, should…
Democrats, Start With Liking North Dakota
You get the sense that Democrats here, and the people who vote for them, think North Dakota is an unsophisticated backwater not enlightened enough to embrace progressive policies. Continue reading…
Plain Talk: Rep. Beadle Once Voted to Put Eliminating the Treasurer’s Office on the Ballot, Now He’s Campaigning for It
With long-time Republican incumbent Kelly Schmidt opting not to run for another term, state Rep. Thomas Beadle (R-Fargo) would like to be North Dakota’s next Treasurer. He has also, previously, voted to put the question of whether or not we should even have a Treasurer’s office on the ballot, though on this episode of Plain…
Heidi Heitkamp Still Has Over $4.5 Million in Her Senate Campaign, and How She’s Been Spending It Will Raise Some Eyebrows
There was a $2,700 bill at the Acqua Al 2 restaurant in Washington, D.C. There were also big tabs at the London West Hollywood restaurant in Beverly Hills, the ultra-fancy Mayflower Hotel in D.C., and the Napa Valley Grille in Los Angeles. On top of that, there was more than $6,700 spent at Schneider’s of…
Plain Talk: Dem House Candidate Talks About His Campaign, His Issues, and Why Trump Is So Popular in North Dakota
Zach Raknerud is a young Democrat from Minot – he’s 26 years old and has been involved in state politics for the “better part of five years” – who has filed paperwork with the FEC to campaign for the U.S. House. He joined me to talk about that on this episode of Plain Talk. This…
Plain Talk: How Does a Republican Win Over a Democratic Legislative District?
America is a deeply divided place in 2020. It’s hard for Republicans and Democrats to talk to one another about, well, much of anything. Yet in 2016, with President Donald Trump at the top of the ballot, North Dakota Republicans picked up a number of legislative seats from Democrats in parts of the state that…