Fargo Mayor Josh Boschee resigns from North Dakota Senate

New Fargo Mayor Josh Boschee announced his resignation from the North Dakota Senate on Monday, effective as of Aug. 4.

Boschee was elected mayor in June and took office last month. 

In a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Sen. David Hogue, chair of Legislative Management, Boschee said he resigned earlier than he had originally planned so the District 44 Democratic-NPL executive committee would be able to name a replacement to participate in the newly announced special session of the Legislature on Sept. 2 to address banning kratom.

Jessie Smette, chair of the Dem-NPL District 44 executive committee, said the process to appoint a replacement for Boschee has already been completed and the district expects to name his replacement later in the week.

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Since Boschee’s resignation occurred within 94 days of the next general election, under North Dakota state law, his replacement will be able to serve in the North Dakota Senate through 2028, which is when Boschee’s term would have expired.

Smette said a form seeking potential replacements was posted to the district’s social media page for much of the past month and the form was also sent out to members of the district’s email list. Several responded, she said, and the executive committee met last week to make its selection.

Boschee was elected to the North Dakota House in 2012 and would go on to become the Democratic caucus leader in the chamber before being named House minority leader in 2019, a position he would keep for the next four years. 

He was elected to the North Dakota Senate in 2024 after former Sen. Merrill Piepkorn decided to run for governor. He served as assistant minority leader in the Senate during the 2025 legislative session.

“Serving my downtown and north Fargo neighbors over the past 14 years has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Boschee wrote. “Although stepping away from the Legislature is not an easy decision, I do so with tremendous optimism for North Dakota’s future.”

He said he plans to continue working with state lawmakers over the next four years as mayor of Fargo.

Boschee was the first openly gay member of the Legislature in North Dakota.

Dem-NPL Senate Minority Leader Sen. Kathy Hogan said Boschee listened, studied, had a gift relating to people and was able to work with people of different points of view on a regular basis.

“He is a model public servant because it was never about Josh and he doesn’t care if he gets credit,” Hogan said. “Everybody likes Josh and I think that’s because Josh loves everybody else.”

She said Boschee was instrumental in bringing the issue of North Dakota homelessness to the forefront and passed a resolution in 2023 directing state lawmakers to identify barriers in state programs and policy for people to become housing stable.

Smette said Boschee was a “true servant leader,” and his open communication with constituents was one of the reasons she decided to get more involved at the district level.

“It’s a huge win for Fargo to have Josh as our mayor and we were lucky to have him as a senator in our district as well,” she said.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Michael Achterling can be reached at [email protected].