Why did Sen. Ray Holmberg choose June 1 to resign?

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MINOT, N.D. — Sen. Ray Holmberg announced on Monday, April 25, that he would be resigning from the state Senate.

He had already announced, months before, that he wasn’t running for re-election this year, but after headlines about dozens of text messages he exchanged with a man jailed on child pornography charges, and the surfacing of a 2020 accusation of sexual assault, Holmberg said he was stepping down sooner to “lessen such distractions” for his legislative colleagues.

The timing of the resignation, though, was curious. “I shall resign my Senate seat effective June 1, 2022,” he wrote the emailed release announcing the news.

Why June 1? Holmberg said he doesn’t want to be a distraction, and assuming that’s true, why not resign right away?

If you’re a distraction, why continue to be a distraction for another 37 days?

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