Bachmeier, Foss advance to general election for North Dakota state school superintendent

Incumbent Levi Bachmeier and Tracy Layne Foss will advance to the general election in the race to be North Dakota’s next superintendent of public instruction.

As of late Tuesday night, Bachmeier had received 56% of the vote, and Foss had received 30% of the vote in complete but unofficial results.

A third contender, Republican Charles Tuttle, had received 14% of the vote. The top two candidates move forward to November’s ballot.

The superintendent of public instruction supports North Dakota’s public K-12 system.

Bachmeier and Foss both have backgrounds working in education.

Bachmeier became superintendent of public instruction in fall 2025 after former Superintendent Kirsten Baesler was appointed to the U.S. Department of Education.

Previously, Bachmeier was the business manager for the West Fargo School District. He also worked as an education policy adviser under former Gov. Doug Burgum. Bachmeier began his career as a high school social studies teacher.

Foss has worked as a teacher for more than two decades. According to her campaign, she’s worked in all levels of education, including elementary, middle, high school and college teaching positions and as a paraprofessional.

Foss is currently a technology and engineering education teacher at Valley Middle School in Grand Forks.

Bachmeier has said if elected, he would focus on addressing teacher retention and recruitment issues, improving student performance and reducing bureaucracy. 

Foss has said that the first thing she would do if elected is listen to teachers, families, administrators and others involved in the public school system for ideas on how to improve K-12 education in North Dakota. She has said she’s open to readjusting the K-12 funding formula, and has openly supported universal school meals.

The position of superintendent of public instruction is nonpartisan, though candidates can seek endorsement letters from state political parties. The top two vote earners in the primary advance to the general election.

Bachmeier is a Republican, but did not seek a letter of endorsement from the North Dakota Republican Party for his campaign. The North Dakota Democratic Nonpartisan League voted to endorse Foss at its state convention in March.

Tuttle participated in the NDGOP state convention but did not seek a letter of support from the party. He previously ran for superintendent of public instruction in 2020, losing in the primary. He also unsuccessfully ran for North Dakota secretary of state in 2022 and for U.S. House in 2018.

This story was updated with complete results.

Reach North Dakota Monitor reporter Mary Steurer at [email protected].