Gary Emineth Seeking Republican Endorsement for State Senate

Following his short-lived, yet extremely rocky U.S. Senate campaign, it appears that Gary Emineth is now seeking the Republican endorsement for the State Senate. In an email, Emineth is asking the Executive Committee of District 35 for their support. District 35 is in Bismarck where Erin Oban is the current State Senator and the only sitting Democratic-NPL legislator west of the Turtle Mountains.

Perhaps his campaign for the NDGOP endorsement for the U.S. Senate was too short lived for you to recall just how it quickly it burned out. Emineth stated he would be the best candidate to take on Heitkamp. Days into the campaign, CNN reported some of Emineth’s tasteless comments in the past, specifically from his social media accounts. He then tried to defend those remarks in a way that left many shaking their heads. “You know what POS stands for in my world? I’m in the grocery business — point of sale. It’s the cash register,” Emineth said in an attempt to defend calling former President Obama a POS. Good grief.

In his email asking for the Executive Committee’s support, Emineth says “I expect this will be a tough and expensive campaign but believe I offer the best chance of beating the current democrat Senator.” This request echoes the announcement he released for the U.S. Senate. People in Bismarck have told me District 35 has had a very difficult time finding a candidate for this race. Perhaps in their panic, they’ll ignore his mistakes and accept his offer.

His plea for support comes at an interesting time. Emineth has also been teasing about relaunching a media outlet in Bismarck. Yesterday, he said the relaunch will take place in July of this year. Will he be entirely focused on his race or the media relaunch? Or, is he intending to use his own media outlet to his political advantage?

If he gets their endorsement, Emineth will have a hill to climb. Incumbent Senator Erin Oban has proven to be proficient in fundraising. In her end-of-year report, Oban already reported raising nearly $22,000 and said on a Facebook post she had nearly $40,000 cash on hand. She has also proven that she can work with both sides of the aisle, withstood Al Carlson’s repeated efforts to remove her as chair of the Interim Education Policy Committee, and is even well liked by many moderate Republicans in her district and the Legislature. Thus, why the district has struggled to find a candidate. It will be interesting to see if the district goes with Emineth and how it shapes out in the weeks ahead.