Julie Fedorchak says North Dakota's U.S. House Representative needs to be a leader

Apr. 25—GRAND FORKS — North Dakota doesn't need a representative that contributes to the drama in the U.S. House of Representatives, says Public Service Commissioner and U.S. House candidate Julie Fedorchak.

"I think what people are hungry for is leadership, and they crave strong leadership in state and in Washington," Fedorchak said. "I don't tolerate drama and gamesmanship; there's too much of that in Washington, D.C., and the last thing North Dakota should do is send another person to Washington who's going to fuel and contribute to that drama."

Fedorchak is one of five candidates

running for the Republican nomination for the state's sole seat in the U.S. House. She currently serves on the state's Public Service Commission, which oversees the state's utilities, railroads and pipelines. Of the candidates in the Republican primary, she is the candidate who most recently won a statewide office, winning a third term to the Public Service Commission in 2022.

"I feel like I stand out as the lead candidate who has a consistent and long record of serving North Dakotans both in business and in public service and delivering conservative results," Fedorchak said. "Through my service on the Public Service Commission, I have been a leader in ensuring that we have the infrastructure needed to support the industry that creates 60,000 jobs for North Dakota citizens and contributes more than half of the revenues of the state budget."

Fedorchak won over 70% of the vote against her Democratic-NPL opponent Melanie Moniz in 2022, and has consistently won at least 65% of the vote in the last three elections for her commission spot.

She says that will translate well into being a leader on key issues, like national security.

"What's going on at the border is just front and center in the news all the time, and it needs to be fixed," Fedorchak said. She continued by saying that securing energy and the national grid is a key part of national security, as well.

"Maintaining a reliable grid to service us and serve our needs is absolutely vital to our security in our communities and our homes," Fedorchak said. "Energy security is a key piece of national security and I will be a very strong leader in that regard in Congress."

Fedorchak also supports a national "floor" on abortion where the procedure would be illegal after 12 to 22 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for the health of the mother. She also would want states to have the ability to go more restrictive if a state so chooses.

"I think our biggest challenge as a pro-life leader is to get the focus back on promoting a culture of life and supporting moms and families," Fedorchak said. "I don't know very many people that think abortion is a good thing, so let's work together to reduce abortion and reduce the occurrence of unwanted pregnancies and to support women and men in choosing life."

Abortion has been illegal in North Dakota since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The North Dakota's sole clinic — formerly in Fargo — moved to Moorhead, Minnesota, where abortion is protected under the state's constitution and in state law.

Fedorchak said she has also heard from many people that they are frustrated with the "woke" agenda.

"We know in North Dakota that boys shouldn't be playing girls' sports, we know that cops are the good guys, they aren't the bad guys," Fedorchak said. "The government needs to get out of the way of parents and let parents parent. Nobody had a better interest in their children than the parents."