Five candidates are running in the Republican primary for North Dakota’s At-large Congressional District. Alex Balazs, Rick Becker, Julie Fedorchak, and Cara Mund have received the most media attention and endorsements. Incumbent Kelly Armstrong (R) is running for governor of North Dakota. The primary is June 11, 2024.
According to the Grand Forks Herald, the five candidate field makes this the most competitive Republican primary since 1972.
The primary follows the Republican Party endorsing convention held on April 6, 2024. Becker was ineligible to seek the party endorsement because he ran against U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R) in 2022 as an independent. In the first round of voting, Becker’s supporters wrote his name on more than 380 ballots, spoiling the ballots and preventing anyone from securing the majority needed to win the party endorsement. Fedorchak led Balazs in the first round of voting 44%-29%. Following the second round, Balazs led Fedorchak 49.7%-49.2%, with only 13 spoiled ballots, but neither had a majority. Fedorchak withdrew and Balazs won the party endorsement.
Republican politicians have endorsed candidates other than Balazs. Governor Doug Burgum (R) and Hoeven have endorsed Fedorchak. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R) has endorsed Becker.
Balazs is an Air Force, Army, and Navy veteran and a former senior foreign service officer for the U.S. Department of State. He said, “I’m extremely frustrated about bad actors, extremist groups, and drug cartels invading our country on the southern border. … It’s time for me to roll up my sleeves once again and protect our constitutional republic by advancing our conservative principles in Congress and stop the crisis at the border now.”
Becker is a plastic surgeon and also represented North Dakota House of Representatives District 7 from 2012 to 2022. He founded North Dakota’s Freedom Caucus, also known as the Bastiat Caucus, which advocates for limited government. Becker said he adheres to a platform of “limited government, personal responsibility, limited taxation, protecting life, and preserving liberty.”
Fedorchak has been a member of the North Dakota Public Service Commission since 2013 and is president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. She said her “appreciation for the major role that energy plays in our economy, safety of our communities and in our national security was a big driver for me getting into this race,” and that she hopes to use her expertise in Washington to help maintain and secure the national grid and railroads.
Mund is an attorney and Miss America 2018. She says she is the only moderate Republican in the race. Mund said, “I’m challenging 4 Republican candidates that want to put women’s healthcare in the hands of the government; the same 4 candidates who care more about pleasing and promoting Trump than protecting democracy. If you believe in law and order and women’s rights, I’m your candidate.”
Sharlet Mohr is also running in the primary.
As of the election, North Dakota was one of six states with an at-large House district, the other five being: Alaska, Delaware, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.