MINOT — Heading into the 2026 election cycle, traditional Republican candidates in North Dakota may have more to fear from their own party than Democrats.
Today, at a reorganization meeting at the NDGOP’s state headquarters in Bismarck, as “No King” protests waved signs across the street, the party elected Matthew Simon as its new chair, and censured Gov. Kelly Armstrong over his veto of book ban legislation.
The election took five ballots. The first ballot showed 23 votes for Simon, 20 for traditional Republican Shane Goettle, and 3 for former populist Republican lawmaker Judy Estenson. After Estenson dropped out, three subsequent ballots had Simon and Goettle deadlocked at 23, a tie made possible by the controversy resulting
in District 25’s chair not being seated.
After a break for lunch, Simon ultimately won on the 5th ballot, 24-22.
Interestingly, Simon has an extensive history on social media of campaigning against endorsed Republican candidates.
For example, during the 2020 election cycle, he urged his followers on Facebook to vote for far-right independent candidate Michael Coachman instead of incumbent governor Doug Burgum. That same cycle, he also urged a write-in vote for MAGA activist Charles Tuttle over NDGOP-endorsed Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Kirsten Baesler.
In 2024, he also linked to an article that opposed Burgum’s efforts to join Trump’s cabinet.
Simon was also a supporter of U.S. House candidate Rick Becker last cycle, even after the party endorsed Alex Balazs at the state convention. “Curious what he would have done as chair in that scenario,” one attendee at the NDGOP’s roundup asked me via text message.
It’s a good question. Simon represents a faction of the party that supports fringe candidates and opposes popular Republican incumbents with a demonstrated track record of success on the ballot.
Populists swept the other party leadership positions unopposed.
Paul Henderson, husband of Rep. Donna Henderson, won vice chair; Jennifer Benson, a former member of the Fargo School Board and executive director of the far-right Center of the American Experiment, won second vice chair; current party secretary Andrew Bornemann and treasurer Stephen Hillerud won re-election.
Many I’ve spoken to expressed concerns about the new party leadership. As the populist wing has gained more control over the party, the NDGOP’s financial picture has dimmed. According to a report distributed to State Committee members, the party operated at a more than $91,000 loss in 2024, a presidential election year when one would expect fundraising to be strong.
The populist faction of the party did suffer some defeats on proposed rules changes.
Amendments to party rules that would have blocked sitting lawmakers from serving as district chairs, and removed Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Senate Majority Leader David Houge, and House Majority Leader Mike Lefor from voting membership of the party’s executive committee, failed by wide margins.
However, the populists did manage to pass censure resolutions against Gov. Kelly Armstrong. The resolutions don’t have any real world weight. Rather they condemn actions the party deems inappropriate.
One resolution states that “the North Dakota Republican Party expresses its deep disappointment in the failure to enact Senate Bill 2307 due to the Governor’s veto and the Legislature’s inability to override it.”
Senate Bill 2307 was a book ban bill. The resolution passed 32-17.
The second resolution expresses the party’s “disappointment in HB1176 on the grounds that it does not go far enough in providing comprehensive property tax reform and relief.”
House Bill 1176 was the property tax reform backed by Gov. Armstrong. The resolution passed 24-23.
Armstrong was blunt when I contacted him about the censure: “I don’t care,” he said.
“If the party does as much to oppose me as they’ve done to support me since 2018, I think I’ll be fine,” he added.
This isn’t the first time the NDGOP has considered a censure resolution for Armstrong. In 2023, the party
nearly passed a resolution
objecting to Armstrong’s vote in favor of codifying same sex marriage in federal law.
Armstrong, a former chair of the NDGOP, won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, 2020, and 2022 with over 60% of the vote each time. Last year, he was elected governor with nearly 70% of ballots cast, enjoying more total votes from North Dakotans than President Donald Trump despite an independent challenge from Coachman.
A censure for Rep. Jason Dockter, who was convicted last year of a misdemeanor, was also passed.
