The preliminary results of the June election show it was a big night for Doug Burgum. The NDGOP Governor poured nearly $2 million of his own money into the getting candidates closer aligned to himself. If the current results hold, and odds are they will – Burgum’s investment may have changed how ND politics is conducted.

Dramatic? Perhaps. So is a wealthy Governor personally buying legislative seats to get his way with public dollars. This could very well impact how business is done in Bismarck. Who wants to publicly disagree with Burgum and be “Delzered?” Stop an initiative and he will just add a couple of zeros to the check mailed to his ad agency. Burgum has promised this type of politics is here to stay in ND. Will his promise be the catalyst to campaign finance reform in ND?

Below are tabs with more information. A couple of result takeaways that stood out to me. Keep in mind, as ballots postmarked June 8th trickle in, results could vary.

Thomas Beadle appears to win NDGOP bid for Treasure

Aided by tens of thousands of dollars from the Dakota Leadership PAC, Thomas Beadle appears to have won the NDGOP bid for Treasurer. He will now face Dem-NPL candidate Mark Haugen in November. The result was a top priority for Burgum.

The Treasurers’s race was a proxy battle within the NDGOP. Though the candidates were Thomas Beadle and Daniel Johnston, the fight appeared to be between Doug Burgum and Kevin Cramer. The catalyst was money and amateur photoshop. The winner was going to be the clear leader of the NDGOP in the upcoming election. The question was whether or not it would be Burgum’s money or Donald Trump’s endorsement prompted by Cramer’s begging that prevailed. June’s election proved money speaks in ND. The NDGOP is Burgum’s/

For those hoping for good government, there are now two capable candidates on the ballot for November’s election.

Tyler Axness
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