Two uncontested races will appear on North Dakota ballots in November election

Oct. 7—BISMARCK — Two uncontested state races will appear on the ballots of North Dakota voters in the Nov. 8 election. In the races for North Dakota Tax Commissioner and a spot on the North Dakota Supreme Court, only one candidate is running in each, and in both races, the candidate is an incumbent.

Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus is running for his first full term in the upcoming election. Kroshus, a Republican, was appointed to the position by Gov. Doug Burgum in December 2021 following the resignation of former Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger.

Prior to serving as tax commissioner, Kroshus served on the Public Service Commission, the state's top regulatory board. He was appointed to the Public Service Commission by Burgum in 2017 and re-elected in 2020.

In his next term, Korshus aims to educate current and prospective residents of North Dakota about the state's economic and tax advantages, to make improvements to Office of State Tax Commissioner processes to better serve taxpayers and to improve tribal relationships.

"The underlying philosophy that I have is, we have to recognize that government exists for the people, not itself," he said.

The tax commissioner is responsible for overseeing the assessment of taxes and enforcing North Dakota's tax laws. The annual salary of the state tax commissioner is $124,250.

North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Daniel Crothers is running for a second, 10-year term in an uncontested race.

"I hope in my last term, as I've made plain, to help provide the court with some continuity as we get newer members of the court coming up," he said.

Crothers is the second-most senior justice on the court after Justice Gerald Vandewalle, who was appointed in 1978. Vandewalle, 89, will not be on the court forever, said Crothers, so the court will have at least one new member in the foreseeable future.

The North Dakota Supreme Court is made up of five judges chosen in nonpartisan elections for 10-year terms. When there is a vacancy in the court between elections, members are appointed by the governor for two years, when they must then run for election. North Dakota Supreme Court justices are paid an annual salary of $169,162.

Crothers, 65, plans to retire after his next 10-year term. He was first appointed to the North Dakota Supreme Court in 2005 by then Gov. John Hoeven. In 2008, he was elected to an unexpired four-year term and in 2012, he was re-elected to his first full 10-year term.