Thu, Jun 29th, 2023 - 4:31pm
April 07, 2024 - 12:43am | By Chris Larson
(Fargo, ND) – Across the city from the North Dakota Republican Party’s State Convention, the state’s Dem-NPL Party was also holding their state convention – at the Avalon Events Center in Fargo.
On Saturday, Dem-NPL delegates endorsed Fargo legislator Merrill Piepkorn for the Dem-NPL’s Governor candidate. They also endorsed Bismarck businessman, Patrick Hart, as Piepkorn’s Lieutenant Governor.
In speeches to delegates accepting their nominations, both candidates stressed the need to bring North Dakota together and get past partisan divisions. Piepkorn said he was nominated to be Governor for all of North Dakota, not just the Dem-NPL party or people who agree with him. Piepkorn called for supporting affordable childcare and school lunches, reforming but not eliminating property taxes, and developing agriculture and energy opportunities. He said healthcare decisions shouldn’t be in the hands of the government.
“If we want strong families and healthy communities, we need to get serious about mental health care and treatment for addictions. We need to protect the land and heal the wounds between us as cultures. We need to talk to each other again as neighbors,” Piepkorn said.
Hart said the state had lost its checks and balances and needed to restore bi-partisanship and accountability. “Good government starts at the top,” he said, stressing the need for integrity in state leadership and a commitment to transparency and efficiency in public agencies to serve the public better.
