Rep. Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota, backed by the former president Donald TrumpThe Associated Press projects he won his state’s Republican gubernatorial nomination, defeating Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller.
Governor of North Dakota Doug BurgumHe refused to run for a third term and emerged as Trump’s potential candidate, supporting Miller as his successor. But Trump did not spare the support of Armstrong, who was considered the favorite to win the primary election late last month.
“Kelly in Congress strongly defended me through two SHAM impeachments and was 100% MAGA” Trump wrote on Truth Social on May 30.
The primary represented an unusual split between Trump and Burgum, who have grown closer in recent months. Burgum supported Trump after he ended his run for president and did emerged as the leading candidate to be its vice president.
They asked about their different preferences CNN interviewBurgum said North Dakotans are “very fortunate to have our state [to] there are two great candidates.”
“I support one, President Trump supports the other,” Burgum said. “But whoever wins that primary in about 12 days, North Dakota will have a great governor.”
After Tuesday’s results, Burgum congratulated Armstrong and state Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak. In an article on X. Tramp and Burgum both supported Fedorchak in his race.
“Congratulations to Kelly Armstrong and Julie Fedorchak on their hard-fought primary victories! The competition is great for the Republican Party and our state is better for it,” Burgum wrote. “We spoke with both Kelly and Julie this evening and we can count on them to stand by President Trump and provide strong conservative leadership for North Dakotans in both the Governor’s Office and Congress.”
Armstrong will face unopposed state Sen. Merrill Piepkorn for the Democratic nomination in the general election. North Dakota, a heavily Republican state, has not elected a Democratic governor since 1988. My drill He won re-election in 2020 More than 40 percentage points.
Armstrong, 47, has been representing an at-large congressional district in North Dakota since 2019. He previously served as chairman of the state Republican Party.
“Since we started, we’ve gone from one end of the state to the other,” Armstrong said on the campaign trail May 30 discussion with Miller. “We did more than 100 media interviews and had the opportunity to meet with more than 1,000 North Dakotans across the state. And that won’t change when I’m governor. I just don’t know any other way to do it.”
64-year-old Miller presented himself as a political outsider. Like Burgum, he had deep private sector experience, having served as CEO of a major electricity distributor before entering politics. Drill bit In 2022, Miller was appointed lieutenant governorafter serving as the governor’s chief operating officer.
“Our country and our state have done very well with business-savvy leaders like Governor Burgum and President Trump,” Miller said in a debate last month. “We need another outsider and business leader in the governorship.”
Armstrong and Miller both campaigned as Trump loyalists. Both defended the former president in the final debate, hours after a jury found Trump guilty of 34 felonies.
“I did this for a living,” said Armstrong, a lawyer. “And I don’t know what he was convicted of.”
Miller, like other Republicans, characterized the trial as a political charge.
“If President Trump hadn’t sought re-election, we wouldn’t be having any of this,” he said. “It’s typical politics, a strategy to keep him out of the campaign.”