Rep. Kelly Armstrong has won the Republican nomination for governor of North Dakota, defeating North Dakota Lieutenant Governor Tammy Miller and establishing herself as the leading candidate in the general election, the Associated Press said Tuesday.
The primary featured two Republicans who are well known in the state and whose platforms share many similarities. Mr. Armstrong, a lawyer and former state Republican Party chairman, was elected to Congress in 2018 from North Dakota’s lone House district. Miller, an accountant and businessman, served as Governor Doug Burgum’s chief operating officer and was appointed lieutenant governor last year.
On the campaign trail, both candidates emphasized their support for former President Donald J. Trump and, as one debate moderator put it, tried to “over-conservativeize the other side.” Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Miller each called for cracking down on illegal immigration and rolling back President Biden’s agenda.
This year’s gubernatorial race did not materialize until relatively late in the cycle as Republicans waited to see whether Mr. Burgum would seek a third term. Mr. Burgum, a business-oriented Republican, has occasionally attacked the right flank of his party on transgender issues. After failing to gain traction in the Republican presidential primary, he announced in January that he would not serve as governor for another four years.
Mr. Burgum, who had been mentioned by some as a potential running mate for Mr. Trump, has emerged in recent months as a more outspoken supporter of the former president.
During his campaign for governor, Mr. Armstrong argued that his years in Congress and the relationships he had built would help him pursue North Dakota’s interests. Ms. Miller sought to portray herself as a political outsider whose business background would shape her approach to governing.
The Republican candidate will face unopposed state Sen. Merrill Piepkorn, a Democrat from Fargo, in the November primary.
In the past, North Dakota voters have sometimes been open to Democrats (although moderate Democrat Heidi Heitkamp won a Senate race in 2012), but Republicans have prevailed in recent statewide elections. Four years ago, Mr. Trump won the state by 33 percentage points and Mr. Burgum was re-elected by an even larger margin.
North Dakota is primarily rural and one of the least populous states in the United States. But the energy industry has brought new residents to western North Dakota over the past 15 years. As of April, the state’s unemployment rate was 2%, the lowest in the nation.
