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

• Former state Sen. Tom Campbell has announced his campaign for North Dakota’s only U.S. House seat.
• Campbell served in the North Dakota State Senate from 2012 to 2018 and is the second Republican to enter the House of Representatives.
• In 2018, Campbell initially pivoted from the Senate race and withdrew from a previous bid for a major House seat.

A potato farmer and former state senator who initially aimed to run for governor has announced he will now campaign for North Dakota’s only U.S. House seat.

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

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

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, former presidential candidate, won’t seek a third term

Republican lawmaker and attorney Kelly Armstrong is running for governor to fill an open House seat. Republican Gov. Doug Burgum is not seeking a third term.

Campbell said in an interview that he had met with Armstrong to discuss the election, and that the two running for governor “would be very expensive and very ugly,” and that the two could run for governor in different races. He suggested that they cooperate in activities.

The importance of North Dakota’s energy industry

Rick Becker, a former state representative and plastic surgeon, is another Republican running for Congress. Democrat Trygv Hamer, a military veteran, is also running.

Republicans hold all statewide elected offices and legislative seats in North Dakota and control the Legislature.