North Dakota U.S. House candidates continue down campaign trail for open seat

Feb. 2—GRAND FORKS — A month into the new year, candidates for North Dakota's sole seat in the United States House of Representatives continue chugging along the campaign trail.

Three candidates have made announcements for the office:

Republicans Tom Campbell

and

Rick Becker

and

Democrat Trygve Hammer

. A primary for the Republican candidate is expected to be held in June before the November general election later this year.

Since both Becker and Hammer declared their candidacy, the House race has seemingly opened up after incumbent

Kelly Armstrong decided not to pursue another term and instead run for the North Dakota governor's office.

Armstrong's announcement came after

Gov. Doug Burgum decided to not seek reelection

. More candidates are being floated for both the governorship and the House seat, but there is still time before the candidate filing deadline for the primary.

Hammer, who doesn't have a primary challenge, said he's focused on the November general election.

"(The contested Republican primaries) are just distractions as far as I'm concerned," Hammer said. "My campaign is focused on doing the work. We've got to raise a lot of money because our general election opponent will be someone who can drop six figures of personal wealth into the effort."

Hammer said that his campaign beat its fundraising goal by $20,000 and that campaign events in Jamestown and Minot have had good turnout.

Campbell is gearing up for a tour of the top 244 cities in North Dakota. Campbell is the latest to announce his candidacy for the office. He had considered a run for governor, but decided against it, opting instead to face Becker in the primary.

"I'm pretty excited to bring some great ideas to help save the next generation and my grandkids, " Campbell said. "No one will outwork my love for North Dakota. I'm a man of the people and this is the house of the people so I think it's a perfect marriage."

Campbell said he's at the tip of the iceberg of what he wants to accomplish during the campaign and reaching as many people in North Dakota as possible.

Becker said time will tell if more candidates declare in the race.

"My big question is whether there will be another candidate entering the race," Becker said. "If (Campbell) isn't necessarily the candidate that the establishment rallies around, then that leads to the question: will the establishment put up a candidate of their choosing?"

Becker also said that Campbell's moderate views won't get the job done in Washington D.C.

"He has indicated that I'm more of a bull in a china shop, more of a fighter, and he's right," Becker said. "But the thing is, that's exactly what we need to represent us in D.C."

There are still several weeks for candidates to make decisions and get on the primary ballot. Becker isn't eligible for the Republican Party's endorsement due to party rules, since he ran as an independent in 2022 against Sen. John Hoeven. The primary election is on June 11.