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During the 69th Legislative Assembly, North Dakota Democratic-NPL Insider will provide updates and calls to action each day of the regular session. If you would like to have something added to the newsletter, email us at laura.dronen@demnpl.com. Spread the word of our newsletter by sharing our sign-up link today: https://demnpl.com/join-our-newsletter/.
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District 41 April meeting with guest speakers
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Monday, April 21, 2025 – 5:30 PM
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Fargo Billiards & Gastropub
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D41 will host their April 21st meeting on Monday, April 21st at 5:30 at Fargo Billiards and Gastropub in Fargo. Jamie Selzler, ND DNC Committeeman will be our featured guest speaker. Jamie was the former Executive Dr of the ND Dem-NPL and is a frequent KFGO guest host and has a good pulse on what is happening in our state and country. In addition, we will have a guest from Youthworks to speak about the important work they do in our state for our youth. We invite other districts to join us.
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District 13 Monthly Meeting
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Tuesday, April 22, 2025 – 6:00 PM
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The Local 701 (was Bar Nine)
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1405 Prairie Way - West Fargo
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The District 13 Democratic-NPL will meet monthly with our West Fargo neighbors.
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District 24 Monthly Meeting
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Thursday, April 24, 2025 – 5:30 PM
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410 Bluff Street Enderlin
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We invite you to attend our monthly meeting on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at the Enderlin Public School (410 Bluff Street, Enderlin, ND).
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If you believe in the power of democracy, we would love to have you with us! Our meetings offer valuable insights, including legislative updates and general business discussions. It’s inspiring to see more people attending each month, eager to learn about our mission and get involved in the future of District 24.
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We hope to see you there and welcome your participation in shaping a brighter future for our community!
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District 27 Meeting
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Thursday, April 24, 2025 – 7:00 PM
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Horace Headquarters Restaurant & Bar
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7951 Jacks Way Suite 104, Horace
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We invite you to attend our monthly meeting at Horace Headquarters Restaurant & Bar, 7951 Jacks Way Suite 104, Horace, ND. This will be our first District 27 meeting in quite some time as we work to revitalize our efforts in District 27.
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8th Annual Governors Dinner with Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn
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Saturday, May 3, 2025 – 6:15 PM
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The Annual Governors Dinner Fundraiser, featuring January 6 Capitol Police officer and former Congressional candidate Harry Dunn, is May 3rd at 6:15 pm, in Mandan.
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We are so excited to welcome Mr. Dunn to ND and we hope you will plan to join us!
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District 11 Legislative Session Forum
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Saturday, May 10, 2025 – 9:00 AM
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ALL RESIDENTS OF DISTRICT 11 WELCOME!
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📍 FARGO SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL: Room C30
📅: Saturday, May 10th 2025
🕰️: 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
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District 44 Public Forum
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Saturday, May 10, 2025 – 10:00 AM
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Sen. Josh Boschee and Reps. Karla Rose Hanson and Austin Foss will provide updates about the session and take questions
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Cass County Democratic-NPL Policy Meeting
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Tuesday, May 14, 2025 – 5:30 PM
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1325 23rd St S, Suite B, Fargo
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Sen. Josh Boschee and Reps. Karla Rose Hanson and Austin Foss will provide updates about the session and take
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Our monthly meeting which includes representatives from the 11 Legislative Districts in Cass County, elected Legislators and staff.
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Help us spread our message—share these recent posts!
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Ringstrom Dekrey Joins Amicus Brief Against the Trump Administration
Dane Dekrey, Ringstrom Dekrey, joins Afternoons Live with Tyler Axness to discuss his decision to file an amicus brief against the Trump Administration.
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North Dakota lawmakers arrange state loan to replace millions in FEMA cuts
“This is a major decision we’re making. We are actually funding a program that was cut by the federal government,” Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, said.
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Mathern cautioned the chamber to "get prepared" for a special session to address other federal cuts.
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Social Security needs to prioritize customer service
The incoming Social Security commissioner would be well served by re-committing SSA to providing timely, efficient and effective customer service. SSA must be clear when communicating any possible changes and the effects of lower staffing levels. And Congress needs to provide oversight to ensure that customer service is prioritized at an agency that has struggled to serve Americans everywhere.
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You earned your Social Security benefits.
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Laurie Levenson speaks to President Trump's current legal battles
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Joel Heitkamp is joined on "News and Views" by Laurie Levenson, a professor of law at Loyola Law School. She's also a Legal Commentator for CBS, CNN, ABC, NBC, BBC, and NPR, and is a frequent lecturer for the Federal Judicial Center and State and Federal Bars regarding legal ethics, wrongful convictions, and criminal procedure.
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She joins Joel to talk about their recent 9-0 ruling on Trump's move with Abrego Garcia, and what, if any, legal repercussions could come from it.
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North Dakota Senate passes Education Savings Accounts for private school students
North Dakota United, a union representing educators and public sector employees, is among those who oppose the Education Savings Account bills.
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“This bill, 1540, is all about private schools, just public money given right to the private schools,” said Nick Archuleta, president of North Dakota United.
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The bill is expected to head to a conference committee made up of three lawmakers from each legislative chamber.
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Nick Archuleta speaks to the ND legislature passing HB 1540, regarding public funds to private schools
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Joel Heitkamp is joined by Nick Archuleta, the President of North Dakota United. He has been with NDU since being elected President in July of 2013.
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The North Dakota Senate approved a bill Thursday establishing Education Savings Accounts for private school students, but details are likely to be worked out by a conference committee.
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The Senate voted 27-20 in favor of an amended version of House Bill 1540, which would provide vouchers for families to use for private school tuition or other qualifying education expenses. The accounts would not be available to public school or homeschooled students.
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Letter: The war on ethics
Who are our legislators representing? It certainly isn’t the people. Do we have to do another petition drive to protect the Ethics Commission from unconstitutional attacks and adequately fund it? The legislature is forcing us to act. If they didn’t like the first initiated measure, they won’t like the next one.
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Friday Federal News Round-Up
More Federal Cuts
Trump and Elon Musk have lodged relentless attacks against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has taken on scammers and put billions of dollars back into the pockets of working families — and they’re delivering another blow by eliminating nearly all of its staff.
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Donald Trump is going after critical services for kids and their families in his latest budget — including Head Start, an extremely popular program that helps nearly a million Americans annually, and critical health care programs that will hit rural folks especially hard.
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After moving to gut public school funding, Trump is targeting kids again by putting Head Start on the chopping block, which could force parents to shell out an extra $12,000 a year so their kids don’t go hungry or miss out on school readiness.
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"This should be shocking"
Today, Sen. Chris Van Hollen returned from El Salvador, where he was able to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Abrego Garcia is the Maryland father who the Trump administration wrongfully deported. After initially denying Van Hollen a meeting, the government of El Salvador brought Abrego Garcia to Van Hollen’s hotel for a meeting. Abrego Garcia. Salvadoran government officials and cameras were there the whole time, so it’s not clear that Abrego Garcia was able to be completely forthcoming about his condition.
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Van Hollen also noted that when he was meeting with Abrego Gargia, the Salvadorans who were setting up the meeting put glasses rimmed with sugar in front of them so it would look like they were drinking margaritas. They had also tried to get Van Hollen to conduct the meeting next to the pool. Authoritarians don’t care if you believe the lies they tell you; they just want you to be unsure of who and what you can believe—you can see that with Trump's recent health report.
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The Supreme Court has ruled that the Trump Administration must facilitate Abrego Garcia's return. A judge who was appointed by Ronald Reagan wrote in an opinion, "It is difficult in some cases to get to the very heart of the matter. But in this case, it is not hard at all. The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order. Further, it claims in essence that because it has rid itself of custody that there is nothing that can be done. This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear."
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LIVE: Sen. Van Hollen holds news conference after meeting Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador
Sen. Chris Van Hollen holds a news conference after meeting Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland resident who courts say was erroneously deported from the United States last month, in El Salvador.
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Top NIH scientist speaks out, says research was ‘censored’ under RFK Jr
Dr. Kevin Hall is departing the National Institutes of Health after 21 years at his “dream job.” He says his research is being censored under RFK Jr—and he joins Chris Hayes to explain how.
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America’s Gulag Moment: Did We Just Cross a Dark Line? (w/ Anne Applebaum)
Sen. Van Hollen showed that Congress actually does have agency, and a federal judge finally scorched the administration in crystal-clear language about how it's violating the essence of our constitutional republic. But the White House is just treating the whole Abrego Garcia affair like it's a joke. Meanwhile, Trump is elevating his own businesses over the nation's, and is quickly adopting the kleptocratic models of Russia and China—while overlooking the fact that the Chinese have maintained a functional and competent government. Plus, children all over the world are going to die because Elon wants our money to go to his companies, and Marco signaled that the big talker who promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours is ready to give up and walk away.
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5 takeaways from the week: Nearing a constitutional crisis?
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The head of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, said this week that Trump's tariffs were larger than expected and that they're "highly likely" to lead to higher inflation.
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Translation: higher prices.
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That prompted Trump to lash out against Powell on Thursday, saying the Fed chairman's "termination cannot come fast enough." Powell, backed by Supreme Court precedent, insists he cannot be fired by the president over policy disagreements.
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White House proposes eliminating Head Start funding as part of sweeping budget cuts
The Head Start program had already been hit this year by layoffs and funding lags, along with a glitch this winter that briefly locked preschool providers out of their federal accounts. The private and public schools that run Head Start classrooms are deeply reliant on federal money, and this year’s funding problems have caused some preschools to close temporarily.
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Trump administration cutting nearly 90% of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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President Trump's administration is drastically shrinking the size and mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, part of a months-long gambit to scale back the financial regulator.
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Roughly 1,500 employees — or almost 90% of the agency's staff — will be cut from the CFPB, leaving around 200 people, according to an administration official who wasn't authorized to disclose the figure publicly and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Fox Business first reported the number of layoffs.
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Tariffs threaten to push auto insurance rates even higher
A slew of new tariffs, including some specific to vehicles, have many Americans reassessing their plans to buy a car — moving them up to take advantage of today's tariff-free pricing, or reevaluating whether they want a new car at all, given the economic uncertainty.
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Two Good Reasons Democrats Should Fight for Kilmar Abrego Garcia
This isn’t a trap, in other words. If anything, it’s the opposite of a trap. For months, the Democrats have agonized over how to respond to Trump’s immigration policy. By refusing to obey court orders—including one from the Supreme Court—the Trump administration has handed them an opportunity on a silver platter. It’s a story that captures everything awful about the Trump administration: its lawlessness, its incompetence, its disregard for basic humanity. Speaking up for Garcia would be the right thing to do even if it wasn’t good politics. Thankfully for Democrats, it is.
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US will abandon Ukraine peace push if no progress soon, Trump and Rubio say
The United States will walk away from efforts to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon, U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday.
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Uncertainty Around USDA’s Rural Development Funding Continues Amidst Staffing Cuts and Office Closures
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The USDA’s Rural Development arm has about 4,800 employees between the agency’s Washington, D.C. headquarters and 400 field offices at the state and local levels across the country. Typically, over half of the department’s staff are based at field offices, Ahmad said. This is one of the department’s biggest strengths, she said.
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“USDA really is seen as that trusted government partner in these communities,” Ahmad said. “A good share of the staff live and work in the communities they serve, meaning they’re from the rural communities that they’re helping, or they’re nearby, and have strong and deep connections.”
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Committees
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Every bill is voted on in the North Dakota legislature, but first, it must go through a committee hearing. The committee will vote to give the bill a "Do Pass" or a "Do Not Pass" recommendation. Below is a list of Standing Committees this legislative session.
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Senate Standing Committee Members
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Meets Monday through Friday
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Desiree Van Oosting (R-36)
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Desiree Van Oosting (R-36)
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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House Standing Committee Members
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Gretchen Dobervich (D-11)
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Cynthia Schreiber-Beck (R-25)
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Meets Monday through Friday
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Cynthia Schreiber-Beck (R-25)
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Patrick R. Hatlestad (R-1)
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Mike Motschenbacher (R-47)
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Gretchen Dobervich (D-11)
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Lisa Finley-DeVille (D-4A)
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Lawrence R. Klemin (R-47)
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Patrick R. Hatlestad (R-1)
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Lawrence R. Klemin (R-47)
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Mike Motschenbacher (R-47)
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Lisa Finley-DeVille (D-4A)
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The Century Club supports our year-round work to build party infrastructure supporting candidate recruitment, local district and regional leadership, issue-based education, and tools for Dem-NPL success.
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Help us elect great Democrats up and down the ballot!
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The North Dakota Democratic-NPL is launching a new grassroots program called “Neighbor to Neighbor” where volunteers will connect with voters in your community to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. As a volunteer, you will be responsible for connecting with voters in 25 homes in your neighborhood or friends and family to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot about 3-4 times this year.
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Grassroots organizers are the lifeblood of the Dem-NPL! Sign up to volunteer with the Dem-NPL!
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