Who Was The First North Dakota Native To Run For President?
This is an interesting question a lot of you might not know the answer to. It’s not former president Teddy Roosevelt, who lived and ranched in the North Dakota territory in the late 19th century (just before statehood) but was born on the east coast, and it’s not progressive Republican William Lemke either who ran for the White House in 1936 on the Union Party ticket getting 2% of the vote. Lemke was raised in Towner County, ND, and served four terms in the US House representing the state, but he was born in Minnesota.
The only North Dakota native ever to run for president as the nominee of a national party is former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, who was born in Minot and was nominated by the Libertarian Party
I actually interviewed Johnson about his run last year. The Great Plains Examiner has an interesting piece on Johnson too.
Tags: gary johnson, North Dakota News
