Video: North Dakota Lawmaker Scott Meyer Touts Republican Gains in State Legislature on Fox News

This morning Scott Meyer, Republican Senator-elect in North Dakota’s District 18, was on Fox & Friends to talk about Republicans winning in blue districts:

Meyer’s victory in District 18 – unseating long-time Democratic incumbent Connie Triplett – was a real upset even in a state as deeply Republican as North Dakota. Meyer flipped that seat to Republicans after 24 years of Democratic control. In fact, I’m not sure that district has ever had a Republican Senator since it was created during redistricting.

The premise of the Fox piece was how Trump was helping Republicans win in blue areas – they specifically referenced Democratic state chairwoman Kylie Oversen (also a loser in the legislative races) blaming losses on Trump – but Meyer was reticent to give the President-elect all of the credit.

[mks_pullquote align=”right” width=”300″ size=”24″ bg_color=”#ffffff” txt_color=”#000000″]”This didn’t happen because of Trump, I obviously appreciate him and he brought voters out, but we still had to work.”[/mks_pullquote]

“I guess they can say that, but you still have to work,” Meyer said. “You’re still campaigning. This didn’t happen because of Trump, I obviously appreciate him and he brought voters out, but we still had to work.”

Reports I got from District 18 said Triplett didn’t spend a lot of time knocking on doors in her district. That’s a mistake in any given election cycle. We North Dakotans still like to look our elected leaders in the eye. But in an election cycle where populism is the dominating theme? Triplett’s attitude proved voters.

“I think there are some disenfranchised voters. We got out and got in front of them and told them we’re not going to take them for granted,” Meyer said adding that Triplett’s “hubristic attitude didn’t serve her very well.”

He’s no doubt right. The national media, which obsesses over national politics, tends to see everything through that lens. But local political trends tend to be far more nuanced. North Dakotans have a long history of splitting their ballots between Republicans and Democrats and would have few compunctions about voting for a Democrat locally and a Republican nationally as long as said Democrat has the right priorities.

The problem North Dakota Democrats have is that they stand for many things North Dakotans just don’t want.

Scott Meyer won in District 18, not Donald Trump.