Plain Talk: Can an independent candidate in North Dakota win?

MINOT, N.D. — In 2020, Shelley Lenz ran for governor, and received the endorsement of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL to do so.

But in 2022, Lenz is running for the state Senate, only she’s doing so as an independent.

Why the switch? Neither party is doing right by the people, Lenz argued on this episode of Plain Talk.

Lenz is hoping to be elected to the Legislature in Dickinson-area District 37, where Republican Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner is retiring. She says the issues around the Legacy Fund’s investments, some of which have gone to not-so-great places like Russia and China, is an example of what she’s talking about.

Though lawmakers have already created a program to divert as much as 20% of the Legacy Fund’s investments to North Dakota, Lenz says she wants more, as much as 50 or 60%.

Will that message resonate with voters? And can someone who isn’t a Republican win in western North Dakota?

That’s why we hold the elections, folks.