Why It Matters
North Dakota voters elected new lawmakers while Republicans retained supermajorities in both chambers. Democrats made limited gains in a Legislature with 141 seats.
What Happened
Tuesday’s election placed 75 legislative seats on the ballot. Two Republican incumbents lost their elections, including Sen. Jeff Barta, who was defeated by Democrat Mary Adams in District 43.
Tyler York and Lucas Maughan won District 43’s two open House seats. In District 42, Nicole Derenne defeated Connie Osowski in a special election for a House seat with two years remaining.
Chris Tiongson and Stacy Heidenreich won the two open House seats in District 41. Heidenreich finished 33 votes ahead of Jennifer Benson. In District 25, Alisa Mitskog defeated Kathy Skroch, while Terry Goerger won the district’s other House seat.
The state Supreme Court denied a challenge involving the primary paperwork of four Republican nominees: Goerger, Blaine DesLauriers, Tim Mihalick and Steve Sauter.
In Fargo’s District 11, Anastassiya Andrianova was elected to succeed Gretchen Dobervich. Doug Sharbono appeared to win the district’s other open House seat by 160 votes. Bob Martinson won reelection to a final House term.
Three Democrats ran unopposed in a joint district encompassing the Spirit Lake and Turtle Mountain reservations.
By the Numbers
141 — total Legislature seats
75 — seats on the ballot
2 — Republican incumbents who lost election
33 votes — margin separating Stacy Heidenreich and Jennifer Benson
160 votes — apparent margin for Doug Sharbono
2 years — remaining on the District 42 House seat
50 years — Bob Martinson’s noncontinuous House service
Zoom Out
Republicans have held the legislative supermajorities as Democrats seek to expand their representation. Democrats last held the majority in the 1980s and 1990s, and they held as few as four Senate seats in 2023.
Mary Adams previously served in the House from 2018 through 2022 and lost House bids in 2022 and 2024. Zac Ista became House minority leader in 2023. The 2021 redistricting map and a 2024 federal court order shaped the districts involved in the election.
Voters approved legislative term limits in 2022. The limits will first affect incumbents in 2028, with eight-year limits for both House and Senate service.
What’s Next
House Republicans will select a new majority leader, and the House Appropriations Committee will receive a new chair. Democrats will choose new minority leaders in both chambers.
Lawmakers will meet in Bismarck for two days of interim-study summaries. The organizational session will last three days in early December, when Gov. Kelly Armstrong will present his budget blueprint. Lawmakers take office Dec. 1, and the regular biennial session begins in early January.