North Dakota Holds GOP Caucuses Ahead of Super Tuesday

FARGO, N.D.—North Dakota Republican Party members will cast ballots in statewide caucuses on March 4 to choose who will be the state’s GOP presidential nominee in the November general election. 

Three candidates on the ballot include former President Donald Trump, former U.S. ambassador and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, and Florida businessman David Stuckenburg.

A dozen vote centers have been set up across the state for registered Republicans to cast votes by secret ballot between 5 and 8 p.m. CST. 

The winner will be announced no later than 10:30 p.m. EST after the voting has ended.

A candidate who receives 60 percent or more statewide caucus votes wins all 29 of North Dakota’s Republican delegates. If no candidate achieves the threshold, the delegates are distributed proportionally among candidates who receive at least 20 percent of the vote.

At Kroll’s Diner in Fargo, North Dakota, Republican voter Frank McDowell from Fallon said President Trump seems poised to clinch the state’s GOP nomination despite his legal troubles. 

“I don’t think people pay much attention to his legal troubles. I think they see beyond that,” Mr. McDowell told The Epoch Times.

Several Fargo residents either declined to comment on this story or were not aware of or planning to participate in the upcoming GOP statewide caucuses.

The nation’s 45th president was recently handed a $355 million financial penalty by a New York City judge amid allegations Mr. Trump committed fraud by inflating the value of his property to obtain favorable bank loans.

The ruling by Justice Arthur Engeron prohibits Mr. Trump from holding top administrative roles in New York City companies, including his own.

However, Mr. Trump’s legal woes appear to have had little negative impact on his supporters as he easily defeated Ms. Haley in primaries and caucuses, including in her home state of South Carolina.

The former president swept to victory in weekend caucuses in Michigan, Idaho, and Missouri ahead of North Dakota’s party-run election on Monday.

On March 5—Super Tuesday—874 GOP delegates will be up for grabs in 15 statewide primaries and caucuses.

‘Pickings Are Slim’

Each Republican candidate will need 1,215 nationwide delegates to win the Republican nomination and advance to the Nov. 5 general election.

As of March 3, President Trump was leading the Republican pack with 244 delegates. Ms. Haley has won 24 delegates so far.

In the meantime, President Trump’s name has been removed from at least three state election ballots following allegations that he incited the Jan. 6 “insurrection” at the nation’s capital. 

According to The Associated Press (AP), North Dakota’s voting patterns and political landscape “make it likely that Trump will extend his string of victories heading into Super Tuesday.”

Ms. Haley tends to fare better among voters “who live in districts that vote for Democrats in general elections.” However, in North Dakota, “those pickings are slim,” the AP noted.

The North Dakota voting centers include the Grand Williston Hotel in Williston; the Minot Municipal Auditorium in Minot; the Devils Lake Armory in Devils Lake; the Ramada by Wyndham in Grand Forks; the Avalon Events Center in Fargo; the Gladstone Inn in Jamestown; the BSC Energy Center on the BSC Campus at 1200 Shafer St; the National Energy Center of Excellence in the state capital of Bismarck; the Roosevelt Grand Dakota in Dickinson; the American Legion Club in Cavalier; 148 East Main in Valley City; the Wahpeton Community Center in Wahpeton; and the Carrington Community Library in Carrington.

According to the Pew Research Center, North Dakota leans heavily Republican among 76 percent of adult voters polled compared with 18 percent who identify as Democrats. 

North Dakota ranks 35th in the number of delegates and is one of seven states that have three votes in the Electoral College. In a presidential race, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the election.

In 2020, Mr. Trump soundly defeated his Democrat rival Joe Biden in North Dakota’s general election, garnering 65.1 percent of the statewide vote. 

Republicans have carried the state in every presidential election since 1968. The North Dakota Democratic Party will hold a primary election on March 30. 

Based on a 2022 estimate North Dakota’s population was 779,26, with nearly 83 percent of its inhabitants listed as white. 

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum recently ended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.