This guest post was submitted by Patrick Finken. He helped create the Norsk Hostfest and produced the Party of the Century that drew over 100,000 fellow North Dakotans to the state capitol mall in 1989. His company, Odney, also created the very successful Legendary brand strategy and campaign for the North Dakota Tourism Division. North…
Cramer Campaign Asks Heitkamp to Take Down “Discredited” Ad About Pre-Existing Conditions
Pat Finken, manager for Congressman Kevin Cramer’s U.S. Senate campaign, has sent the Heitkamp campaign an email asking them to take down an ad he says has been “discredited.” Here’s a screenshot of the email he sent Heitkcamp campaign manager Libby Schneider, which he also provided to me: Here’s the ad Finken is talking about.…
Burgum Campaign Has A Point About Stenehjem Consultant On The Radio
Here’s the latest chapter in the increasingly petty Republican gubernatorial primary between Doug Burgum and Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. Apparently Pat Finken of Odney Advertising sat in for Scott Hennen on his syndicated, state-wide talk radio show today. He used his on-air time to talk about the gubernatorial campaign, including bringing on guests like state…
UPDATED: Lt. Governor Drew Wrigley Did Offer Valley News Live An Interview
I have an update to the kerfuffle over a news report claiming that Lt. Governor Drew Wrigley was dodging reporters looking to ask questions about his affair, and it turns out that Wrigley did offer an interview though not necessarily in the medium requested. Last night TV news station Valley News Live ran a story claiming…
Pat Finken: It's Time To Fix Our Federal Permitting Process
America is a country that has been built on opportunity. For generations, men and women have found ways to develop our resources, expand our infrastructure, and grow our economy. And in doing so, they have left a legacy and created new opportunity for generations to come. Many, however, are currently being lost to a broken…
Democrats Won't Say If They've Requested Student Data For Political Purposes
We’re in the “red zone” for the election year, with early voting having commenced and election day just a few weeks away, and for some reason Democrats have decided to make an open records request by a Republican-aligned marketing firm for student data that is public record a really big issue. At issue is Odney Advertising head…
How Did Democrats Discover Odney Email Without Open Records Request?
Last week North Dakota Democrat Party Chairman Bob Valeu made a stink about Pat Finken, the head of Odney advertising, requesting student directory information from the North Dakota University System. Valeu and Democrats called on Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem to block the release of data, claiming that he could do so even though the information is…
North Dakota Democrats Declare War On Republican Ad Firm
In the eyes of this political observer, it’s been a pretty quiet election year in North Dakota so far. The House race between incumbent Republican Kevin Cramer and Democrat challenger George Sinner has been a snoozer so far. Despite indications that it would be a competitive race at the onset the match between Republican incumbent…
Polling: Goehring Polls Better Than Estenson Against Taylor, Fairfield Way Behind Jaeger
I have some polling from the Brighter Future Alliance – a North Dakota based 501c4 non-profit committed to promoting the free enterprise system and pro energy development public policy, as they describe themselves – in the Agriculture Commissioner and Secretary of State races. Full disclosure: The Brighter Future Alliance was founded by Pat Finken who is…
Does The NDGOP Have Bookkeeping Problems?
Michal Conger published an article for the Washington Examiner a couple of days ago detailing what the headline claims is “strange spending” by the North Dakota-based “super PAC” called the Brighter Future Fund. The group was founded by Odney Advertising president Pat Finken (full disclosure: Odney sends advertising dollars to SAB), and during the 2012 cycle was…