I wrote earlier this morning about the overall numbers from last night’s primary vote. There were no really competitive races on the statewide ballot, nor were there any statewide ballot measures, but one race did jump out at me with some interesting results. The race for the Republican U.S. House nomination featured four candidates: NDGOP-endorsed…
Armstrong Raised Twice What Campbell Did First Quarter of 2018
After losing the House race endorsement to Kelly Armstrong at the NDGOP state convention earlier this month Tom Campbell, after initially flirting with a run to the June primary ballot, announced that he’d be folding his campaign (though his name will still be on the ballot because he did file petition signatures to be there).…
Attorney General: Despite Withdrawal Campbell’s Name Will Still Appear on the Primary Ballot
Earlier today state Senator Tom Campbell announced that he was withdrawing from the U.S. House race despite having filed petitions to put his name on the June primary ballot the day before. Campbell’s name will still be on the June ballot, though. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has found no legal provision allowing Campbell to take…
Poll: Heitkamp and Cramer Neck and Neck in Senate Race, Campbell Leads Among Republicans in House Race
The folks at Gravis Marketing have released polling for North Dakota’s House and Senate races, the tax reform bill, the abortion issue, gay rights, and immigration. They shared the polling with me exclusively – Gravis President Doug Kaplan will join me on my radio show at 1pm today – but I’ll admit to never having…
After All the Announcements and Maneuvering, Here’s What North Dakota’s Federal Races Look Like This Morning
Congressman Kevin Cramer announced last week that he’s running for the U.S. Senate. That has set off a ripple of maneuvering across Republican political circles, and I thought I’d round up what everything looks like as of this morning. First, as I wrote over the weekend, we can expect current NDGOP Chairman, and Dickinson-area state…
Paul Schaffner: “We Have an Ethics Problem in North Dakota
This column was submitted by Paul Schaffner, previously a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate who below announces he’s running for the U.S. House. I appreciate the opportunity to address the readers of SAB. I am running for US Congress for numerous reasons from love of country, community, and my belief in conservative values. I…
New Yorkers Gave Almost Three Times More Money to Heidi Heitkamp Than North Dakotans Did
The federal candidates like Senator Heidi Heitkamp and Republican challenger Tom Campbell released their fundraising totals for 2017 a while ago, and of course those totals generated headlines. Mostly about how much money Heitkamp has raised. But the actual disclosure reports behind those numbers just recently became available from the FEC, and they tell an…
Podcast: Senate Candidate Paul Schaffner Has Little to Say About Conviction for Soliciting a Prostitute
U.S. Senate candidate Paul Schaffner was on my radio show today. You may remember me writing about Schaffner announcing, and then withdrawing, a similar campaign late last month. In that post I noted Schaffner’s conviction last year for soliciting a prostitute. I asked him about it today, but he said he couldn’t talk about it…
Third Candidate Announces for U.S. Senate Campaign
UPDATE: Schaffner has now informed me, as of about 1:15am on Feb. 1, that he is again not running. A third candidate has announced that he will be seeking the NDGOP nomination for the U.S. Senate. Paul Schaffner of Bismarck sent me the press release below tonight. He also posted his announcement to a Facebook group…