Democrat announces long-shot campaign for North Dakota’s only US House seat

A Democratic military veteran is seeking North Dakota’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, aiming to stir unrest in a state where Republicans hold every state and congressional office and Democrats haven’t won an election since Trump’s victory. Heidi Heitkamp in the US Senate in 2012.

“It is time to elect a pro-union, pro-choice and pro-Democrat leader who will represent North Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Trygve Hammer of Minot said Wednesday in announcing his candidacy. He is challenging the incumbent Republican. Representative Kelly Armstrong, an attorney and former senator, was elected to the seat in 2018.

Hammer, who previously ran unsuccessfully for the state House and for the Public Service Commission in North Dakota, brings an extensive resume. He cites 25 years of military experience, including his deployment to Iraq in 2003 as a weapons platoon commander. He retired in 2010 as a major from the Marine Corps. He also worked as a pilot, freight rail conductor and science teacher in grades 7 through 12.

“I’m running for Congress because it’s time to put government to work for all of us. It is time to end the major intrusions on our most personal decisions as individuals, parents and patients,” Hammer said in a statement.