This guest post was submitted by state Rep. Rick Becker, a Republican representing District 7 in the Bismarck area. A few days ago I read that the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) was considering allowing college presidents to offer out-of-state students the in-state tuition rate. Because this touched on two bills I…
Group of Republicans Considered Attempt to Replace Democrats as Minority Party in the Legislature
Over the years I have often heard North Dakota politicos of the Republican persuasion joke that if the Democrats in our state aren’t going to use their party for anything meaningful it ought to be taken over by conservatives, leaving us with a political divide between conservative and moderate Republicans. State Rep. Rick Becker, a…
With Rep. Al Carlson on the Ropes, Other Republicans Express Interest in Being Majority Leader
Rep. Al Carlson, a long-time state lawmaker and current Majority Leader in the North Dakota House of Representatives, is fighting for his political life in Fargo’s District 41. That district has been trending blue for a while now, and Carlson is hardly safe. Carlson, an incumbent, is running alongside newcomer and fellow Republican Michelle Strinden…
The State of North Dakota Should Give This #NoDAPL Protester His Truck Back
The #NoDAPL protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline were, unfortunately, an exercise in violence and political extremism. That said, that the State of North Dakota would use civil asset forfeiture laws to keep the property of a protester acquitted of charges seems an injustice, yet that seems to be exactly what’s happening to New York…
Border States Electric CEO Says She Won’t Be Challenging Senator Heitkamp This Cycle
Tammy Miller, CEO of Border States Electric, had been considering seeking the NDGOP nomination for the United States Senate. If she’d won that nomination it would have pitted her against Democratic incumbent Heidi Heitkamp. But this morning Miller told me she has decided not to run. “Earlier this year, I was approached to consider a…
Voters Getting Call From Pollster Testing Becker, Schmidt Against Heitkamp
Multiple SAB readers contacted me last night and this morning saying they’ve been getting polled on potential match ups in North Dakota’s 2018 Senate race. Incumbent Democrat Heidi Heitkamp announced that she’s running for re-election this morning, which is news to exactly nobody given the millions from out of state she’s already been stuffing in…
Border States Electric CEO Tammy Miller Considering Challenging Heitkamp for Senate Seat
North Dakota’s Senate race is heating up for Republicans. Congressman Kevin Cramer is considering a Senate run, and state Senator Tom Campbell of Grafton (who will be on my radio show this afternoon) is officially in the race and campaigning hard. Also considering Senate bids are state Rep. Rick Becker of Bismarck, former Congressman Rick…
North Dakota Republicans, Democrats Get Utterly Uninspiring Candidates for House and Senate Races Today
For those of us who enjoy horse race politics, today was an indication that the 2018 election cycle in North Dakota may be a dull one. For the Democrats, former state lawmaker Ben Hanson of West Fargo announced his intention to run for the U.S. House. The most pertinent part of his resume may be…
State Rep. Rick Becker Says Decision on Senate Run May Have to Wait Until September but Won’t Hinge on Cramer
We know that state Senator Tom Campbell of Grafton is considering a run for the NDGOP nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Senate incumbent Heidi Heitkamp (who is absolutely running for re-election despite her silly posturing). We also know that both Kathy Neset, an oil industry consultant and member of the North Dakota State Board of…
Heitkamp Has Gone From the 61st Most Popular Senator to the 11th, Hoeven Approval Has Fallen
Back in April of 2016 North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp had a 50 percent approval rating, and a 35 percent disapproval rating, making her the 61st most popular member of the United States Senate according to polling by Morning Consult. But since Heitkamp pretty much launched her 2018 re-election bid in January, leaving her to campaign…