Armstrong, Piepkorn face off in first debate for North Dakota governor

MINOT — The Republican and Democratic candidates in the North Dakota gubernatorial race have faced off for the first time.

U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., and State Sen. Merrill Piepkorn, D-Fargo, debated on Plain Talk, a podcast hosted by Forum columnist Rob Port, on Friday, Sept. 6. The debate was the third in a four-part series during which Port interviewed candidates running for North Dakota’s governor, U.S. House and U.S. Senate seats.

Armstrong and Piepkorn hope to succeed North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who announced earlier this year that he would not seek a third term in office.

The two will face each other and independent candidate Michael Coachman on Nov. 5 in the general election.

The two candidates seemed to agree on most topics, including attracting more people to the state to fill workforce needs, doing more to address mental health and possible funding for child care needs.

Armstrong said there is no silver bullet for solving workforce issues, but North Dakota should look at providing health care, a plan to build more affordable housing, recruiting workers and having safe communities.

“If you want to implement these types of programs and you want to grow your communities, particularly your small towns, you have to concentrate on cops, teachers and nurses,� he said.

Any issue can be tied to the workforce, Piepkorn said. North Dakota has made progress in providing opportunities for recruiting workers, he said.

There are opportunities for people who want to move to North Dakota, Piepkorn said, as the state has plenty of jobs. North Dakota has passed several “culture war� bills that, in national headlines, make the state undesirable to live in, he said.

Specifically, he noted legislation that requires public libraries to review their collections for “explicit sexual material.� Also called the book ban bill, the law was criticized for allegedly targeting LGBTQ literature.

Piepkorn said he wouldn’t have signed half of the “culture war� bills that Burgum did.

“It seemed like he was playing politics,� Piepkorn said.

The bills seemed to come from out-of-state influencers, he said. He noted libraries found few books that needed to be moved from the children’s section or the library.

“In some of these things, they are making an issue out of something that is not an issue," he added.

Piepkorn also criticized legislation that puts a near-total ban on abortions in the state, though he didn’t know how he would roll it back.

When asked if there were bills he would have vetoed that Burgum signed, Armstrong said he didn’t know because he doesn’t know what the governor was thinking, nor has he researched the bills.

“I haven’t read any of the bills,� Armstrong said. “I haven’t read a single one.�

The issues surrounding “culture war� bills are important to North Dakotans, Armstrong said.

“Sometimes I get a little frustrated when people say ‘culture war’ issues, and they say it in a way that is a negative connotation,� he said.

Armstrong said he doesn’t want to take local control away from cities, school boards and counties unnecessarily, adding Stark County handles issues differently from Cass County. As governor, he said he would ask himself, “Is this a local issue or state issue?�

Both Armstrong and Piepkorn said they did not want Measure 4 to pass. The measure that will be on the general election ballot would eliminate property taxes.

“I hate Measure 4,� Armstrong said. “I don’t like it. I think it is a terrible idea.�

When Armstrong was in the Legislature, lawmakers thought they passed legislation that would provide enough property tax relief. He acknowledged that they were wrong, and people are upset.

“We have to figure out how to do this,� he said. “There has to be structural change.�

Piepkorn agreed that structural change is needed when it comes to providing property tax relief. School districts are the primary source of higher property taxes, Piepkorn said. He proposed the state use its funds to help pay for school expenses, such as building bonds.

“I think the state can step up,� he said.

Plain Talk will wrap up its debate series with a discussion on Measure 4 on Sept. 13. Former Fargo City Commissioner Tony Gehrig, who supports the measure, and Republican activist Bob Harms, who opposes the measure, will face off in that debate.