3 Republican US House candidates hold fiery first debate

Three North Dakota Republican U.S. House candidates sparred over abortion, being labeled ‘RINOs’ and carbon capture technology in a debate hosted by The Flag radio station on Friday.

NDGOP-endorsed candidate Alex Balazs and Republican candidates Julie Fedorchak and Rick Becker spent two hours trading barbs and making their pleas to voters on why they would be the best candidate to represent North Dakota in Congress.

There were multiple contentious moments between Becker and Fedorchak during the debate.

Becker told Fedorchak she was being propped up by “big spending, big government” Republicans; something Fedorchak was offended by.

“She’s doing their bidding,” Becker said.

Fedorchak responded: “I personally take offense to the idea that I’m being ‘propped up’ by anybody and I think it’s pretty sexist, Rick, so shame on you for that.”

She said she’s been working in North Dakota for 25 years and advocating for conservative principles.

On abortion, Balazs said he doesn’t believe an abortion ban should come at the federal level and the issue should be left to the states. Becker accused Fedorchak of supporting pro-choice positions on her blog and she accused Becker of voting for “non-pro-life” positions when he was in the Legislature, which Becker said he regretfully did early in his lawmaking career.

Fedorchak and Becker both said “life begins at conception,” but Becker pointed out that Fedorchak’s statement flies in the face of her support for a nationwide abortion ban at 15 or 16 weeks of pregnancy. 

“If Julie believes, as she says she does, that life begins at conception, how can you be an advocate for killing pre-born babies well into their second trimester?” Becker said. 

Fedrochak said she supports a federal floor for abortion, as do many anti-abortion organizations, which would push back against abortion protections in many liberal states.

“It would eliminate the extreme states of New York, California and their more extreme pro-choice laws that would allow abortion up to almost the time of birth or even after,” Fedorchak said. “A federal floor, a 16-week floor, would be a move in the right direction for life in this country because it would standardize that as the base and other states wouldn’t be able to have extreme positions on abortion.”

On spending, Becker said RINOs, or Republicans in Name Only, like Fedorchak, would be “too chicken” to vote against omnibus spending packages because they worry it’ll be used against them in a campaign.

“Instead of having a backbone and saying, ‘I’m going to vote no on this,’ let them take it back, separate things out and let’s vote on them individually,” Becker said.

Fedorchak said Becker labeling her a RINO doesn’t make much sense since he has relabeled himself multiple times.

“It’s interesting to be called a RINO by somebody who has been a Libertarian, a Republican, an Independent and now a Republican again,” Fedorchak said. “So, who’s a Republican in name only when it’s expedient for him to try and win an election? Rick Becker. Not me.”

Balazs said he opposes omnibus spending bills and added the threats of a government shutdown are overblown. He would like to see federal agencies present budgets individually for votes in the future.

On carbon capture and incentivizing tax credits, Balazs said, if the carbon dioxide is captured and used to extend the lives of oil wells, or make them more productive, he could see those tax incentives being important for energy businesses and North Dakota.

“Tax credits are very effective to make industry work,” Balazs said. “It’s a mission … if we need to effectively use tax credits to keep people here, then let’s do that.”

Fedorchak said she also supported using tax credits to support energy and agriculture industries.

“The ethanol produced with corn using carbon capture and storage has a 25-cent premium for the farmers,” Fedorchak said. “This product is going to be used to create low-carbon aircraft fuel and that is a brand new industry and it’s going to be built someplace in this world. It ought to be in North Dakota.”

Becker called the tax credits for carbon capture and storage a “scam,” and said he would’ve voted against them.

“The idea that you must support this incredibly huge, new taxpayer-subsidized program in order to be pro-farmer, pro energy … is complete nonsense,” Becker said. “The 45Q tax credit relies on the belief that global warming is man made and can be corrected by getting rid of carbon dioxide and burying it underground. You must believe that in order for this to make sense.”

He added that giving billions of taxpayer dollars to private industry has companies lining up like “pigs at a trough.”

Fedorchak also admonished Becker for encouraging delegates to spoil their ballots during the 2024 NDGOP convention and wasting the time of everyone who attended the event. Balazs won the party’s endorsement after the second ballot following Fedorchak’s withdrawal from the endorsement contest.

“I feel bad for Julie,” Becker said. “She expected to handily win the convention and clearly the grassroots of North Dakota were not behind her, so I understand that she’s bitter.”

When asked about whether President Joe Biden should be impeached or charged with treason for his handling of the federal government, both Fedorchak and Becker said they supported impeachment while Balazs said criminal charges may be more appropriate for his botched military troop withdrawal from the Middle East.

Republican House candidates Cara Mund and Sharlet Mohr, who filed to run for office just ahead of Monday’s deadline, said they were not invited to participate in Friday’s debate.