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Welcome to the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Insider, a newsletter that features regular updates about upcoming Dem-NPL events, legislative happenings, and news that affects North Dakotans!
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Did you know the DNC hosts a morning news show called the Daily Blueprint that is livestreamed on YouTube weekdays at 9 AM CDT? You can watch it live or later on the DNC’s YouTube channel here.
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State Convention is coming!
This year's convention theme is "Unite For Our Future" - a call to action grounded in shared democratic values and collective responsibility.
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At a moment when division threatens progress, we come together - across generations, communities, and regions - to reaffirm that democracy works best when everyone has a voice and a stake in what comes next. This convention is about leadership rooted in hope, action over cynicism, and unity as the engine of lasting change. Together, we are not just defending democracy - we are building a future worthy of the next generation.
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Here is a condensed schedule of events
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Friday, March 6 (Open to anyone, you do not need a guest pass for the events on Friday)
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Bavendick Stateroom, National Energy Center of Excellence, BSC
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5:30 PM - Welcome Reception hosted by BisMan Dems Leadership (Free)
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6:30 PM - Dinner with Democrats featuring Ron Harris ($100)
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Advance Technology Center
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8:00 AM - Registration begins
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8:00 AM - Breakfast (Included with Delegate/Alternate fee)
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9:30 AM - Official Business Begins
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12:30 PM - Casual Lunch (Included with Delegate/Alternate fee)
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12:45 PM - VIP Luncheon ($100)
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Keynote Address with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston
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6:00 PM - Dinner (Included with Delegate/Alternate fee)
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7:30 PM - Legislative Victory Fund Karaoke Fundraiser ($25)
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9:00 AM - Candidate Training (More information to come!)
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Weren't able to make it to your District Convention and want to be a delegate to the state convention? Let us know! Spots are filling up fast!
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District 22 - Run for Office Virtual 5K
District 22 is hosting its first annual virtual 5K! Registration is happening now through February 27, 2026. You can complete the 5K (3.1 miles) any time, anywhere through March 31, 2026.
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Break the distance up into smaller segments or get it done in one go. Hop on your treadmill, go outside, walk or run alone or with friends.
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Keep an eye out for in-person meet-ups if you are local to the Fargo-West Fargo area during the month of March!
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Finally Friday Social!
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Fri, Feb 20, 2026 6:00 PM CST
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Every Friday, come celebrate the start of the weekend with the Souris Valley Dem-NPL!
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Coffee with Friends
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Sat., Feb 21, 2026 9:00 AM CST
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1545 S University Dr., Fargo
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Join us for Coffee with Friends on Saturday, February 21 at 9 am, Luna on South University Drive. Anna Stenson, Immigration Attorney, will be our speaker. See you soon!
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District 3 and District 5 Meeting
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Sat, Feb 21, 2026 5:00 PM CST
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Come celebrate Friday with the Souris Valley Dem-NPL!
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District 2 February Meeting
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Sat, Feb 28, 2026 6:00 PM CST
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Building on the success of our January Convention, we will meet to hear from U.S. House candidate Trygve Hammer. Trygve was unable to join us at the Convention as planned due to the passing of his father that day. Other agenda items will include planning for upcoming elections, planning for the March 28th No Kings protest, and final preparations for our state convention delegates.
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Accountability Project 2026
In a recent letter, Sen. Kent Conrad said of Burgum, Hoeven, and Cramer, "If they cannot find the courage to stand against government abuse of American citizens, they should resign or be held in contempt by the judgment of history." We're going to continue to put pressure on our elected officials and demand that they find a backbone in this moment.
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On Friday, February 27, we're going to drop off messages from North Dakotans across the state at the offices of our Federal Delegation.
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North Dakota Democrats are fired up to run for office this year!
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Districts 3, 7, 9, 11, 13, 31, 33, and 35 have all endorsed full slates, and most Districts have endorsed at least one candidate for the Legislature! If you want to run, this is the year to do it! Let us know if you are interested!
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Century Club Update
The goal of this State Party is to win elections. When we do that, Dem NPL legislators and state office holders will once again work for you. Reaching 500 Century Club members is the first threshold we need to meet in order to sustain our organizing staff to meet the campaign demands for the upcoming, and crucial, midterm elections; and to build this party to take back power in Bismarck and DC.
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Our Finance Director Colin Helfenstein said, "We are up to 437, up from 414 at the beginning of the month! Our top 3 Districts are D11 with 29 members, D46 with 27 members, and D44 with 25 members."
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Help us spread our message—share these recent posts!
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679: We're your friends. We're your neighbors. We're your co-workers.
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Kyle Erickson and Zach Raknerud are two Democratic-NPL candidates running in Minot's District 5, but what's unique about Erickson is that he was born with cerebral palsy. If elected, he would (at least in this observer's memory) be the first lawmaker in North Dakota living with that sort of disability.
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But he wants it to be clear that he's not getting elected to be a single-issue leader.
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"The people with disabilities isn't this nebulous demographic out there," Erickson said on this episode of Plain Talk. "We're your friends. We're your neighbors. We're your co-workers. I think it would be a great chance to have those voices or to have somebody from the disability community get elected."
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Still, Erickson plans to represent all of his constituents if elected. "Disability rights in this state is like the second or third policy that's a priority for me right now, because, I mean, North Dakota is wonderful, but we have a lot of work to do in order to increase the quality of life for it citizens, and that means whether or not you're a single mother or you have a disability or you're white or you're black or purple.
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Erickson first made statewide headlines when a disability program he works for at Minot State University saw its federal funding cut abruptly as a part of the Trump administration's chaotic "DOGE" efforts to promote efficiency. "I kind of point to that as my kind of origin story, so to speak," Erickson said adding, "I just want to protect my community members."
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This is Erickson's first time running for office, but for Raknerud, this is his fifth turn on the ballot, including a past run for the U.S. House against former Congressman Kelly Armstrong. "I continue to try because I love North Dakota and I really do believe that the values of North Dakota are not being represented by the North Dakota GOP, especially as they go farther into the extremes."
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Also on this episode, guest co-host Jamie Selzler and I discuss what is looking to be a very diminished state convention from the North Dakota Republican Party, Fargo's mayoral race, and listener feedback.
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Law Professor Laurie Levenson and former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp speak to SCOTUS striking down Trump tariffs
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Laurie Levenson is a Professor of Law at Loyola Law School and Legal Commentator for CBS, CNN, ABC, NBC, BBC, and NPR. She frequently joins Joel on "News and Views," and joined today to talk about Donald Trump's legal battles and the current case being heard by the Supreme Court.
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Joel Heitkamp is joined by Laurie, and later on, his sister, former United States Senator, former Attorney General, and State Tax Commissioner for North Dakota, Heidi Heitkamp, to have a conversation about the breaking Supreme Court ruling on tariffs.
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The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs on Friday, handing him a significant loss on an issue crucial to his economic agenda.
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The 6-3 decision centers on tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country.
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Joel Heitkamp speaks with Axios about the controversial SAVE Act, regarding voting
Jason Lalljee is a reporter for Axios and joins Joel Heitkamp to have a conversation about the SAVE Act. The SAVE America Act, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on February 11, 2026, includes both a documentary proof of citizenship requirement and a requirement that voters provide a photo ID in order to vote.
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Trygve Hammer Candidate for US House
Afternoons Live with Tyler Axness welcomes Trygve Hammer, Candidate for US House in North Dakota, to discuss why he is running and what he plans to do with the job if elected.
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International Trade Policy Impacts on Local Business
Sean Syverson, Swing Barrel Brewing, joins Afternoons Live with Tyler Axness to discuss a recent meeting with Senator Amy Klobuchar where they discussed the impacts of international trade policy on small businesses.
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Supreme Court Overrules Donald Trump’s Reckless Tariffs
Today, the Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal, rejecting the Trump administration’s claim that it has unilateral authority to enact Trump’s trade war.
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North Dakota Democratic-NPL Chair Adam Goldwyn remarked, “Trump’s tariffs thrust our farmers into the worst crisis they’ve faced since the 1980s. The Supreme Court’s ruling matches what we already knew—that these disastrous tariffs were illegal, but the damage is already done. North Dakota small businesses have closed. Working families are barely making ends meet. Our farmers’ trade markets have been destroyed. Fedorchak, Hoeven, and Cramer have been asleep at the wheel while North Dakotans suffer.”
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Former U.S. Rep. Earl Pomeroy to speak on campus
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The University of North Dakota Nistler College of Business & Public Administration will host former U.S. Rep. Earl Pomeroy as the featured speaker for the 2026 Wenstrom Lecture Series.
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The lecture will take place Thursday, Feb. 26, at 4 p.m. in the Gransburg Community Room at the Gorecki Alumni Center. Pomeroy will present “America at 250 — ‘A Republic, if You Can Keep It.’”
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A graduate of UND with degrees in political science and law, Pomeroy has dedicated his career to public service in North Dakota and on the national stage. His service includes terms as a state legislator, North Dakota insurance commissioner and nine terms representing North Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Stacy Mitchell speaks to grocery food deserts across rural America
Stacy Mitchell is the Co-Executive Director for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and wrote this article in the Atlantic: The Great Grocery Squeeze / How a federal policy change in the 1980s created the modern food desert. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance released a new interactive map and policy brief that exposes how decades of unchecked consolidation reshaped the American grocery landscape.
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Letter: I once thought Doug Burgum was a smart guy
In view of cabinet member Burgum’s recent comments, I’ve rethought my past appraisal. Rather than thinking of him as a “smart guy,” I can only conclude that—at least on this issue—he is anything but.
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3rd Democrat announces campaign for North Dakota US House seat
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“It’s not just about North Dakota, but whomever is elected is on the national stage and you’ve got to be nationally astute to what’s going on,” Neville said. “What’s going on in D.C. has got to stop, and our country is normalizing cheating and bribery and all of that.”
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Neville, a nurse with 41 years of experience, previously lived in Iowa and worked under multiple federal grants as a public health educator and liaison focusing on Gulf War illness. Neville has been a North Dakota resident since 2020 and lives and trains in Jamestown.
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Port: The NDGOP has alienated itself from its own candidates
If true, and the prediction has the ring of it to me, that would be an astounding drop off for the state's dominant political party. And one with dire financial consequences, too. The state convention is typically one of the most significant sources of revenues for the state party in an election cycle. In January, the NDGOP reported having just $5,000 in funds dedicated for the convention , and the party's fundraising has been in the doldrums since new chair Matthew Simon was elected.
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Joel speaks to arrest of former Prince Andrew over Epstein files-related misconduct
The former Prince Andrew, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested Thursday for suspected misconduct in public office after revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein files. Joel Heitkamp shares his take and takes comments from listeners on the news.
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Check out these posts from national Democrats
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BREAKING: Supreme Court Overrules Donald Trump’s Reckless Tariffs
“Donald Trump has tanked America so bad in one year that even the Supreme Court thinks he’s gone too far. This historic decision is a step in the right direction to rein in Trump’s illegal tariff taxes — but it can’t undo the damage Trump has already done to working families and small businesses that are reeling from high prices and a faltering economy. Despite promises of being ‘America First,’ Trump has handed out massive tax cuts to billionaires and favors to his wealthy donors, while everyday Americans barely make ends meet. That’s why he’s completely underwater and his approval ratings are in the dumpster. Today, the Supreme Court handed Trump an off-ramp — but he’s already doubling down, even though it means screwing over everyday Americans, including his own voters.”
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Les Wexner says ‘diabolical’ Jeffrey Epstein ‘duped’ him, denies wrongdoing
“The most important information for us is really about the money,” Garcia said on CNN earlier Wednesday.
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“We know that Wexner was Jeffrey Epstein’s single largest benefactor,” Garcia said. “When you think about Epstein’s wealth, whether it was the plane, the island, the amount of money when had, his homes — much of that came directly from Wexner.”
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Hillary Clinton accuses Trump of Epstein 'cover-up' in new interview
Hillary Clinton in an interview with the BBC is accusing Trump of an Epstein 'cover-up'. The Morning Joe panel discusses.
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NEW: Trump Pushes Inflation Up, GDP Down
“Trump lies, but the numbers don’t: The latest data reveals that Americans are struggling to afford basic necessities. As Wall Street executives grow richer by the day, working families, small business owners, and farmers are tightening their budgets and scrambling to make ends meet. Instead of looking out for everyday Americans, Trump is selling them out to hand out massive tax cuts to billionaires.”
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Epstein survivor: US version of royalty is ‘billionaire class’
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Farmer said she hoped the U.S. would follow the U.K.’s lead and prosecute billionaires involved in Epstein’s crimes. She and her sister, Maria Farmer, are both Epstein victims.
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“It is complicated because what we’ve seen from the DOJ has left me with little faith that they will do the right thing,” Annie Farmer said. “That has not occurred, but I do think that public pressure means a lot, and I think if they continue to feel the pressure that I believe they are now, that they may be forced to act.”
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Share these Dem-NPL Graphics!
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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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