Jaeger to ND GOP: Please Take Me Back

Just a few months after North Dakota Republicans kicked him to the curb at their convention, Jaeger comes crawling back for their endorsement

(BISMARCK, ND) — When the North Dakota Republicans publicly forced Secretary of State Al Jaeger into retirement after a 25-year career, they probably thought they were done with him. But, after the revelation of their preferred candidate’s 2006 peeping tom arrest, Jaeger has come crawling back looking for their help.

Now that Jaeger is forced to collect enough signatures to get on the ballot, he has had to scramble to gain the ND GOP’s endorsement, even though they didn’t want in the first place. However, as we saw last week when Jaeger chose to ignore a federal judge’s order to implement a voter education program informing North Dakotans about the state’s voter id laws, it doesn’t look like he’s learned any lessons from losing his party’s backing in the first place.

“Al Jaeger is flailing, and now he has successfully begged his party to do a 180 on his candidacy,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “The North Dakota Republican party decided to kick Jaeger to the curb because of his refusal to modernize the Secretary of State’s office, but now they are forced to ignore their objections and endorse a backward-looking candidate for another 4-year term. This is bad news for North Dakota’s voters, small business owners, and anyone else who is looking for a modern, streamlined government with a clear focus on serving the state in an efficient and effective manner.”