Dakota Beacon

There is a fracture in the Republican Party; it is real and about to split the party into pieces. It is no more apparent than watching the primary battles play out June 11. The main factions fall into a variety of categories, but it can be best identified by the candidates. John Hoeven, Doug Burgum, Kelly Armstrong, Rick Becker, and Kevin Cramer are where most of the battle lines have been drawn.

While some voters in each of these factions cross over, they can be flushed out by looking at the structure of the campaigns, including campaign volunteers, PACs, financial support, and legislators who give it credence. Although the leaders claim unity with each other, the split is real and dangerously close to breaking up the Republicans in ways that could give the Democrats an opening.

What the Republicans have going for them is the lack of a coherent direction in the opposite camp. The Democrats have lost their way and have no strong leader to challenge the chaos caused by this division in Republican ranks. If Republicans don’t find a way through this, North Dakota may default to a history of a third party.

The question before us is this: Who makes the first move? Is it the establishment crowd of Hoeven and Burgum or the conservatives? Armstrong as a candidate has backers in both camps and could be the catalyst for change that determines which group emerges as the Republican Party of the future. Since it is apparent, he will be the next governor in North Dakota, his leadership could decide this outcome.

What Hoeven and Burgum bring is essentially old news and stirs the pen and passions of no one. They are the “old guard” even in establishment circles. The legislators have typically been all over, but with Burgum spending millions of his own dollars to defeat conservatives who wouldn’t tow the line, he actually created another faction which crosses over all other factions listed. This is now playing out in various legislative races across the state. 

Millions of dollars are being spent against Republicans attacking each other because the general election in North Dakota has now become the June primary. Primary voter turnout is around 150,000 in presidential election years as opposed to 350,000 voters in the general election; a much smaller group will determine who the elected officials will be.

This creates the opportunity for the pendulum to swing once again to a more conservative or liberal position. 

While the Trump phenomenon is playing a major factor in this unrest it doesn’t play out in the primary since his candidacy isn’t determined in the primary but through the NDGOP caucus process.

As most North Dakotans are conservatives and hold Christian values, the conservative group (which are really Reagan Republicans) hold the upper hand.

I believe this because they are most passionate about saving America from forces well-articulated by their counterparts and compatriots at a national level. June 11^thmay determine which direction the GOP goes.

Emineth is a North Dakota native businessman and political activist. He is a former executive director and chairman of the North Dakota Republican Party. Emineth has served on the Republican National Committee and chaired numerous presidential campaigns in North Dakota. He is the host of “The Legislature Today” and “Open Range” daily TV shows on BEK. He is a serial entrepreneur and has 40-plus years of business experience with multi-national companies. He has traveled the world extensively and has served as CEO and president of mid-tier companies.