Native Americans gain representation in North Dakota Legislature as Republicans keep supermajority
North Dakota Democrats lost legislative seats in Fargo and Grand Forks but gained two seats in District 9, which will have an all-Native American representation.
Republicans would maintain a supermajority in both houses of the Legislature — 42-5 in the Senate and 83-11 in the House, according to unofficial results from the Nov. 5 general election, the North Dakota Monitor reported .
Republican Jared Hendrix was able to take a House seat from the Democrats in Fargo's District 10.
Democrats gained the District 9 Senate seat, with Richard Marcellais defeating Judy Estenson.
Both the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and Spirit Lake Nation reservations are in District 9, which will be represented by three tribal members.
Marcellais and Rep. Jayme Davis are Turtle Mountain members. Collette Brown, who appeared to win the House seat, is a Spirit Lake member. But Brown's margin over Republican David "Doc" Brien, a Turtle Mountain member, may be close enough that Brien could ask for a recount. That will depend on official results.
"We made history," Marcellais said of the all-Native delegation.
He said one piece of legislation he wants to introduce in the 2025 session deals with missing and murdered Indigenous people.
He has personal connections to the issue, including the death of a great niece, Jayden Marcellais, in Minot in 2020.
Nicole Donaghy, executive director of North Dakota Native Vote, a group that advocates for Native people to engage in democracy, called the results "transformative" for tribal communities.
"For the first time ever, two of our tribes have been able to elect candidates of their choice," Donaghy said in a statement. "Candidates who are trusted leaders in their communities that know the issues and will work to ensure tribal sovereignty is considered in the legislative process."
A federal judge redrew the district boundaries this year after the two Native American tribes successfully sued the state over the way district lines were drawn by the Legislature in 2021.
Estenson had represented District 15 but the change in district boundaries had her matched against Marcellais, who served 16 years in the North Dakota Senate before being defeated in 2022 by Kent Weston.
Weston is now in District 15, where he and two Republican House candidates faced no Democratic-NPL competition.
Hendrix worked against some incumbent Republican legislators in favor of more conservative Republican candidates, alienating the moderate faction of the party. He also was a driving force behind creating term limits in the North Dakota Legislature.
District 10's other House candidate, Rep. Steve Swiontek, did not campaign with Hendrix.
Swiontek was the top vote-getter in the House race, ahead of Hendrix.
They both finished ahead of incumbent Democrat Hamida Dakane, who had endorsed Swiontek.
In an interview, Swiontek noted that it was a district that voted for Democrats Kamala Harris for president and Katrina Christiansen for U.S. Senate while voting to replace Dakane with Hendrix.
He complimented Dakane as a "very good colleague and an effective legislator."
He said he respects the wishes of the voters who will want the delegation to "work together to meet the needs of District 10."
Democratic Sen. Ryan Braunberger held on to his seat by a slim margin over Republican George Roughead.
In other legislative races:
District 42: Republicans maintained control of all three seats. Republican Doug Osowski was the top vote-getter for House, while Rep. Emily O'Brien secured the second seat. O'Brien has had her residency questioned by one of her constituents, the Grand Forks Herald reported. Rep. Claire Cory, who pleaded guilty to reckless driving this year, was elected to the Senate seat.
District 18: Republican Sen. Scott Meyer, who apologized for threatening messages he sent to the Democratic opponent, Kyle Thorson, won by 8 percentage points in unofficial results in the Grand Forks district.
There may be a possible demand recount in the House race, depending on official results. Republican Nels Christianson led Democrat Mary Adams by less than 1 percentage point in unofficial results. Republican Steve Vetter was the top vote-getter.
Democrats had held one House seat in the district but Rep. Corey Mock chose not to run for reelection.
District 46: Rep. Jim Kasper, who like Hendrix, had been targeted by moderate Republicans for his right-wing views, was reelected. He was the top vote-getter among House candidates in the district.
Incumbent Bismarck-Mandan area Republican state House and Senate members held on to their seats in districts with contested elections. Winners included: state Sen. Diane Larson, R-Bismarck, in a two-person race in District 30 (74%); state Reps. Pat Heinert, R-Bismarck (39%), and Lisa Meier, R-Bismarck (39%), in a three-person race in District 32; and state Sen. Justin Gerhardt, R-Mandan, in a two-person race in District 34 (74%).
The 2025 legislative session begins Jan. 7.
