Appointment of North Dakota lawmaker in limbo amid dispute over district party chair

Residents of District 25 are still short one representative after the death of Rep. Cindy Schreiber-Beck amid uncertainty about whether the southeast North Dakota Republican Party district properly elected a chair.

Secretary of State Michael Howe said Friday there may not be a legal path in state law for him or Legislative Management to fill the vacancy.

Ann Smith, who described herself as chair of the District 25 Republicans, issued a news release Friday naming Richland County Commissioner Terry Goerger as the new lawmaker. Schreiber-Beck, a Republican from Wahpeton, died in May. When a lawmaker dies while in office, state law calls for the district committee of the political party to appoint a successor.

Hours after that news release, the North Dakota Republican Party issued a statement saying the appointment of Goerger is invalid. 

Matthew Simon, newly elected state chair of the NDGOP, said District 25 is not recognized as an organized district under NDGOP rules because it did not complete a valid reorganization by a May 15 deadline. He said the district has no chair and no authority to make an appointment. 

It’s Sen. David Hogue’s job as Legislative Management chairman to formally notify the district chair about a legislative vacancy. If the district doesn’t make an appointment within 21 days of getting that letter, then Legislative Management makes the appointment, according to state law.

But in this case, it’s unclear who Hogue was supposed to notify and the 21-day clock has not started, according to an analysis by the Attorney General’s Office. Hogue sent letters on June 10 to both Smith and Erik Nygren, former chair of District 25.

“It’s a quagmire,” said Hogue, R-Minot. “Maybe this is why we have a third branch of government, to tell us who the district chair of the Republicans in District 25 is because I don’t know at this point.”

Howe said Friday the Secretary of State’s Office can’t issue a certificate of appointment for Goerger because the request came from someone who is not confirmed to be chair of the District 25 Republicans.

“A certificate of appointment will not be issued until the NDGOP acknowledges that a District 25 Republican Party district exists and is organized,” Howe wrote in a letter to Smith Friday.

Smith did not return a call seeking comment Friday. 

Nygren, the former District 25 chair, posted on Facebook on May 2 that the original District 25 reorganization meeting on April 26 violated the district’s bylaws and possibly state law. He added to “avoid confusion and potential legal challenge” the district would hold a new reorganization meeting on May 10. 

It is unclear which bylaws or state laws were violated during District 25’s reorganization meetings.

North Dakota Republican Party division apparent as new chair elected in split vote

Goerger said Friday he was interviewed by the District 25 Executive Committee over the past week and informed he would be their appointee. He added he is aware of the disagreement over the chair position, but declined further comment because he was not directly involved.

A news release said Goerger, of Mantador, was elected to the Richland County Commission in 2022 and is a member of more than 20 local and state boards, such as the North Dakota Renewable Energy Council, National Biodiesel Board and the North Dakota Soybean Council.

The NDGOP said the state party plans to work with the district to hold an organizational meeting by Aug. 31, with the help of a parliamentarian to make sure actions meet legal and procedural standards.

The North Dakota Republican Party is divided,between establishment and populist factions, with members of the State Committee voting 24-22 to elect Simon as state party chair last Saturday in five rounds of voting. The State Committee did not allow a representative from District 25 to vote. 

The legislative appointment would run through Nov. 30, 2026. Legislative Management meets next week and is expected to appoint lawmakers to interim committees and other governing boards.