Over the years I have been consistently critical of Secretary of State Al Jaeger’s handling of his duties. There have never been any large problems in his office, but there is a consistent stream of little ones, from goofs in administering elections and ballot measures to how slow his office has been to embrace modern…
Will Gardner Submits Letter to the Secretary of State Declining Primary Nomination
Yesterday I wrote about the potential for a political headache for Republicans in the Secretary of State race if Will Gardner, who dropped out of the race earlier this year amid scandal but couldn’t by law be removed from the primary ballot, didn’t decline the nomination he won by running unopposed. Last night a NDGOP…
When Will Gardner Decline the Secretary of State Nomination?
Last night Will Gardner won the Republican Secretary of State nomination with over 54,000 votes. This despite Gardner withdrawing earlier this year amid scandal related to a 2006 disorderly conduct conviction for peeping on college girls in their dorms at North Dakota State University with his pants undone. Absent some action from Gardner his name…
House Candidate Kelly Armstrong Clearly Has Some Work to Do in Reuniting Republicans
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…
Cramer Campaign Staffer Was Aware of Will Gardner’s Disorderly Conduct Conviction, Says He Didn’t Know About the Peeping
My print column for Wednesday is online already. It’s about the increasingly bizarre dynamics of North Dakota’s U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Heidi Heitkamp and Republican challenger Kevin Cramer. I wanted to flag a part of the column in a blog post, however, because I think it’s important. Cramer campaign staffer Jared Hendrix, who…
Podcast: “Why Would You Want the Republican Wannabe When You Can Have the Republican?”
“It had nothing to do with complaining about President Trump,” Congressman Kevin Cramer told me today of a recent visit with the Trump administration. That visit has been characterized by some media reports (which, in turn, were hyped by Senator Heidi Heitkamp’s campaign) as a gripe session from Cramer who is supposedly upset about the…
Podcast: Jaeger Talks About Re-Entering Secretary of State Race After Gardner Campaign Implodes
“When that news broke it changed everything.” That’s what incumbent Secretary of State Al Jaeger told me on my radio show today. He was referring to news that erstwhile Republican Secretary of State candidate Will Gardner, who had defeated Jaeger for the NDGOP’s endorsement earlier this month, was stopping his campaign amid scandal. Jaeger said…
Print Column: The Public Deserves Better Vetting of Candidates
On my radio show Monday, as I discussed Republican Will Gardner’s departure from the Secretary of State race, I tried to remember the last time a Democrat had won an election for an executive branch office North Dakota. I couldn’t do it. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp was the last Democrat to win a statewide election for…
Will Gardner’s Campaign Implosion Is Will Gardner’s Fault
When Will Gardner defeated long-time Republican Secretary of State Al Jaeger at the NDGOP’s convention earlier this year some factions of the party hailed it as a great victory over “the establishment.” I’m not sure that was really the case. Rather, I think it was rank-and-file North Dakota Republicans deciding that Jaeger had worn out…
Podcast: NDGOP Chairman Says “Party Will Take a Look At” Background Checks for Candidates
Over the weekend Republican Secretary of State candidate Will Gardner ended his campaign after a bombshell report in the Fargo Forum detailing a disorderly conduct conviction for some very creepy behavior on the NDSU campus back in 2006. That put the NDGOP in an awkward position. As it stands now they have no official candidate…