MINOT, N.D. — Delegates at the North Dakota Republican Party’s 2026 state convention narrowly voted to strip the Republican brand from incumbents who boycotted the event, highlighting ongoing frustration that candidates can bypass party processes via signature petitions and still run with the “R” label on the ballot.
The motion passed 318-312 on March 28 at the All Seasons Arena. A reconsideration attempt failed the next day. Party leaders and state officials called the action largely symbolic, since only the Legislature can change ballot-access laws.
Attendance dropped sharply to 707 credentialed delegates — about half the roughly 1,470 at the 2024 convention in Fargo and far below the record 2,321 in 2022. All seven statewide Republican incumbents up for re-election skipped the gathering, an unprecedented boycott. The convention endorsed Alex Balazs for U.S. House and Deven Styczynski for a six-year Public Service Commission seat but left most of the statewide slate without endorsements.
A Harvey resident who attended the convention and voted against the brand-stripping motion said the close vote did not reflect division over the need for change. “Something needed to be done, and most (90% at least) of the people who voted no actually voted no because it didn’t have teeth, not because it was divisive,” the attendee said. “There is a lot of unity behind what is happening. People feel like the current methods don’t actually work.”
The attendee described years of low turnout at district meetings that elected officials had come to expect. “When you do what you’re supposed to do and show up to the district meetings, the district representatives don’t even show up. They haven’t for several years now,” the attendee said. “The fact that a Republican representative can put the R behind their name and expect to receive the vote is ludicrous but it works as it stands now.”
Grassroots participants have increasingly used tools such as LegiNate.com — which applies the academic WNOMINATE method to score lawmakers based on actual roll-call votes — to evaluate alignment with limited-government principles and identify where voting records appear more moderate than expected in a deeply Republican state.
The grassroots surge traces to the 2022 convention, which drew a record 2,321 delegates. Incumbent Sen. John Hoeven defeated Rick Becker for the U.S. Senate endorsement, 1,224–1,037. Many Becker supporters viewed the outcome as the establishment prevailing and doubled their efforts at the district level.
By 2024, that organizing had shifted the delegate pool. At the Fargo convention, the U.S. House endorsement process appeared headed for an easy win by Julie Fedorchak, with the atmosphere suggesting she was the clear favorite. Becker, ineligible due to party rules, encouraged supporters to write in his name. The resulting 382 spoiled ballots on the first ballot prevented a majority and revealed the true strength of the grassroots faction. Many who had felt they were in the minority realized they were not. A second ballot produced another near-tie (Balazs 605, Fedorchak 599), and Fedorchak withdrew, allowing Balazs to receive the endorsement.
The 2026 convention looked very different — smaller, with attendance less than half of 2024 and reportedly costing less than 10% of the previous event’s budget. It felt less like a large production and more like 700 grassroots people coming together to make decisions. Attendees described significant unity, with long sessions marked by prayer before votes and a shared sense of mission. “Even though it went long, people wanted to do what needed to be done,” the Harvey attendee said.
Despite the progress and unity, frustration persists. “The people who are now the Republicans are upset that while they did the work to show up to all the meetings and vote for their preferred delegates we still have no political power,” the attendee said. “It makes us wonder who runs this state.” Many feel North Dakota often sends “Republican in name only” or big-government candidates to Washington and want clearer distinctions — true Democrats should run as Democrats without smoke and mirrors.
Balazs received the 2026 endorsement in part because he was the only candidate who showed up to seek it. Some delegates still felt trepidation due to 2024, but the attendee noted Balazs has expressed understanding and humility. “He admitted to me personally and to many that he made a mistake and sees that he split the vote because he was talked into running,” the attendee said. “Alex seems to understand the assignment and is apologetic for not being in the loop in 2024.” Balazs has pledged to limit the size and scope of government, enforce fiscal responsibility, and support term limits.
The attendee expressed continued support for Rick Becker, a longtime advocate for limited government and constitutional conservatism who founded the Bastiat Caucus in the state Legislature. The attendee hopes Becker pursues another run — possibly for U.S. Senate or another congressional seat — alongside Balazs. “We still love Rick Becker,” the attendee said. “If we had another constitutional, truly limited-government candidate as our third, we would have a dream team.” Both Balazs and Becker have spoken in favor of term limits and against becoming lifetime politicians.
NDGOP Chairman Matthew Simon has acknowledged the symbolic limits of the brand-stripping vote. Longer-term efforts are expected to focus on legislative reform to give party endorsements more weight. Incumbents cited past convention infighting as their reason for boycotting and focusing on the June 9 primary.
North Dakota’s system allows candidates to qualify for the ballot through party endorsement or signatures alone, with the latter still permitting the Republican label. Participants say increased district-level involvement shows growing engagement, but changing state law remains the ultimate goal for giving grassroots delegates more meaningful influence over who carries the Republican brand.