Former state senator announces run for North Dakota’s lone US House seat

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A potato farmer and former state senator has announced his campaign for North Dakota’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, after initially eyeing a run for governor.

Tom Campbell, of Grafton, is the second Republican in the House race. He served in the North Dakota Senate from 2012 to 2018. Campbell previously ran for the at-large seat in 2018 after switching from the state’s U.S. Senate race, but he withdrew before the crowded GOP primary election that year.

“North Dakota needs a Congressman who can be effective and can work with President Trump,” Campbell said in a Facebook announcement Friday. “We have to be pro-oil, pro-farmer, pro-business, and pro-people.”

Republican Rep. Kelly Armstrong, an attorney, is running for governor, opening up the House seat. Republican Gov. Doug Burgum is not seeking a third term.

In an interview, Campbell said he met with Armstrong to discuss the elections, saying the two of them running for governor would “get very expensive, very ugly,” and suggesting they work together in their different campaigns.

Former state Rep. Rick Becker, a plastic surgeon, is the other Republican running for the House seat. Democrat Trygve Hammer, a military veteran, also is running.

Republicans hold all of North Dakota’s statewide elected offices and congressional seats and control the Legislature.