tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355720152009-11-14T12:09:40.072-06:00A blog covering important political news from North Dakota and around the country.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-42754808010380252492008-11-05T18:25:00.006-06:002008-11-05T18:55:20.171-06:00

Yesterday the people of North Dakota decided to send Earl Pomeroy, a liberal democrat, back to the US Congress where he will serve his ninth term. Despite the single digit approval ratings given to the Democrat-led Congress almost immediately after the 2006 elections, instead of voting for new representation and new ideas, North Dakotans voted for the tired, out-of-touch philosophies of Earl

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-76836068980449965272008-10-26T16:25:00.003-05:002008-10-26T16:36:26.577-05:00

Duane Sand has raised incredible amounts of money for his campaign against entrenched liberal Earl Pomeroy this election season, even managing to raise more than Pomeroy himself. His $1.62 million raised this cycle is the most money that any challenger has raised for a run against Pomeroy, far outpacing even Rick Clayburgh in 2002 who nearly beat Pomeroy and raised $1.08 million. Only a tiny

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-27063067912783148622008-10-17T19:30:00.005-05:002008-10-17T19:37:51.829-05:00

Duane Sand has a new endorsement to add to his campaign in the form of former House speaker Newt Gingrich. You can hear the ad in the video below. Both Gingrich and Sand realize that domestic energy production is a critical step in freeing ourselves from foreign oil. They realize that we don't have time for people like Earl Pomeroy to continually vote against expansion of oil shale drilling here

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-87114092268988511922008-10-14T19:58:00.005-05:002008-10-14T20:45:18.739-05:00

Duane Sand will be debating incumbent Earl Pomeroy for the second time on October 20th. You can catch this debate, which is sure to be intense, on NBC at 7PM. Recently Earl has become more and more desperate to find an issue to attack Duane on. He decided to make the false claim that Duane takes his paycheck from a "radical Washington special interest group". It turns out that this "radical group

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-62776982982470622852008-09-03T22:30:00.004-05:002008-09-03T22:40:24.113-05:00

Tonight it became very clear why John McCain chose Sarah Palin to be his running mate when the 44-year-old Alaska Governor took the stage at the Republican Convention and delivered one of the greatest Vice Presidential speeches in history. Palin effectively appealed to the audience's emotions while still delivering powerful blows to Barack Obama's campaign. She introduced America to her family,

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-37778131825274128432008-08-25T19:23:00.004-05:002008-10-26T16:35:37.710-05:00

Incumbent Congressman Earl Pomeroy unleashed his first serious attack ads against his opponent, Republican Duane Sand, today. The first part of the radio ad runs like this: "Every four years we see it: the competition, the back & forth drama.No, not the Olympics.It’s Duane Sand in North Dakota, running for political office and twisting the truth."In the remainder of the ad, Earl claims to have

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-22396758690250189452008-08-22T19:18:00.003-05:002008-08-22T19:25:26.723-05:00

Has John McCain selected Mitt Romney to be his running mate? Time Magazine seems to think so. Apparently many news talk shows are already buzzing with this news, and the Boston Globe is reporting that: "Mark Halperin of Time magazine set the buzz going again Thursday night with a one-sentence report on his website that John McCain had settled on Romney." You can read the full story here. I will

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-32726691668495679342008-08-20T18:08:00.000-05:002008-08-20T18:09:09.024-05:00

Duane Sand has been hitting Congressman Earl Pomeroy hard all summer long, and his latest radio ad deals a significant blow to Earl's campaign by exposing his anti-drilling record. The ad is titled "Six Votes" because of the six times that Earl Pomeroy voted against drilling here in America. You can listen to it below:

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-48709473752822222702008-05-26T19:54:00.004-05:002008-05-26T20:40:34.269-05:00

With the 2008 election in full swing, it is interesting to take a look at some of the statewide polling data conducted by Dakota Politics. While there is little press coverage on several of the races such as Bob Peterson's re-election bid as State Auditor, the online polls are still a good indicator of support. Starting with the race for Congress, Duane Sand enjoys a 83% vote over Earl Pomeroy's

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-70644863523817626482008-04-22T20:55:00.006-05:002008-04-22T22:45:14.481-05:00

2008 just might be the year that we finally get rid of the entrenched and out of touch bureaucrat Earl Pomeroy, and Duane Sand is the candidate to do it. His campaign is hard at work, and he is raising unprecedented amounts of money for his efforts. He will need all that he can get to combat the influx of out of state money that Earl Pomeroy will be able to receive. I just got a letter in the

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-78605126480230712692008-04-08T22:01:00.003-05:002008-04-08T22:15:48.957-05:00

With the Democrat-NPL convention now finally over, but with Ed Schulz's "warmonger" comment about John McCain still making the rounds on talk radio, and rightfully so, its time to take a look at the challenges or lack thereof that state Republicans are facing this year. Its likely to be another great year for the state offices, but the majority in the House and Senate is threatened.For incumbent

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-38738474860724948962008-04-04T19:59:00.003-05:002008-04-08T22:17:36.575-05:00

The GOP nomination for District 30 will be held on Monday, April 7. I am in District 30, but unfortunately I won't be able to make the event due to other commitments. Above you can see the main campaign sign for Arnie Zent on 12th Street just south of Bismarck. The sign is on the creative side, and it actually got blown down last Saturday (March 29) due to high winds. Zent quickly replaced the

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-4459908608414880392008-03-29T22:24:00.004-05:002008-03-29T22:30:23.142-05:00

Brian Kalk has won the state GOP's nomination to run for Public Service Commissioner. I'm thrilled about his victory, and I am excited for the campaign. I'm currently in the middle of the State Future Business Leaders of America Conference, so I was unable to attend the convention. I really wish that I could have gone - especially to see such a great result.The conference will be over on Tuesday,

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-66223864877669311552008-03-25T21:36:00.004-05:002008-03-25T21:50:41.786-05:00

In the wake of Duane Sand's announcement for Congress last Thursday, the Dem-NPLers have resorted to what has ironically become their favorite catch phrase when dealing with Sand. Here is the full statement released by Director Jamie Selzler:"Duane Sand has been handily rejected twice by North Dakota voters, because he is out of touch. He worked for an out-of-state interest group which supports

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-73245667847430021032008-03-25T21:16:00.003-05:002008-03-25T21:36:15.706-05:00

Mitch Vance, a retired magazine editor, business operator, and teacher has announced that he will be seeking his the Dem-NPL's nomination for State Treasurer next week. Incumbent Kelly Schmidt has been doing a great job in the office, so Vance will need to do more than make statements like these: "the Treasurer performs very important functions for you, the people. As the keeper of the people’s

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-87738583697252559402008-03-20T17:01:00.010-05:002008-03-20T17:28:40.495-05:00

I just got back from the Duane Sand announcement at the Republican Headquarters in Bismarck. Originally scheduled for 3:00, it was delayed about 45 minutes since Sand had to travel all the way from Grand Forks. As expected, Sand announced that he will be running for Congress against incumbent Earl Pomeroy - and he made his reasons for this decision very clear. The main theme of Sand's speech was

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-58919935395239713932008-03-16T22:27:00.003-05:002008-03-16T22:47:38.562-05:00

With all of the buzz about Barack Obama's radical and racist pastor Jeremiah Wright, Obama tried to distance himself from the pastor this past week. Here is a summary of what has already transpired: Obama has attended the Trinity United Church of Christ for nearly 20 years. He heard the sermons of his pastor Jeremiah Wright, who Obama has called a "close personal friend" and a "mentor". Wright

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-43954954960359925822008-03-13T18:54:00.005-05:002008-03-13T19:06:19.205-05:00

Duane Sand's staff has made the following press release regarding his announcement on a potential run for Congress.Bismarck, ND – Duane Sand will hold a series of press conferences on Thursday, March 20th, 2008, to announce his decision regarding a run for U.S. Congress. The press events will take place in Fargo, Grand Forks, and Bismarck respectively. See details below for times and

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-72044068063962331022008-03-10T21:54:00.009-05:002008-03-10T22:38:36.202-05:00

I just returned from an incredible week that I will forever remember. I met 103 like-minded individuals from all 50 states, heard from the leaders of our nation, and made friends and connections that will last for many years to come. The 2008 United States Senate Youth Program was an incredible experience that I will never forget. The William Randolph Hearst Foundation is an amazing organization

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-65936768267953099942008-02-29T19:23:00.003-06:002008-02-29T19:27:25.921-06:00

This will be my last post before my Trip to DC as part of the US Senate Youth Program (see older post). My flight leaves at 11 AM tomorrow - I won't be returning until next Saturday (March 8). I will come back and post pictures, videos, and I'm sure lots of great stories.

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-70508000473851857382008-02-27T19:41:00.003-06:002008-02-27T19:57:11.703-06:00

The race for my district, South Bismarck's District 30, is quickly becoming one of the state's most heated legislative races. With the retirement of incumbent Ron Carlisle, 5 individuals have already stepped up to run for his seat. On the Republican side, District 30 Republican chair Mike Nathe has the edge, but Georgia Couture and Arnie Zent are also seeking the nomination. Casey Skovran and

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-85132074800337493672008-02-21T16:29:00.004-06:002008-02-24T22:47:44.201-06:00

Matt Mechtel, a 39-year-old farmer from Page, ND has died from what sources are describing as a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Mechtel ran for the U.S. House in 2006 against Earl Pomeroy. He was found this morning by his father in a shop building at his parent's home. I never met Mechtel, but he seemed like a great guy and this is tragic news.More information from the Associated Press:In October

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-36769118746484003402008-02-20T22:24:00.002-06:002008-02-20T22:39:27.934-06:00

As some of you are probably already aware, KXMB did a on me and my blog yesterday. Here is a link - you will find the story along with the video. Brad Feldman did a really great job on the story, and I'm glad that the station took the time to interview me and give people an insight into the story behind the blog.

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-6273193708654943622008-02-20T22:03:00.004-06:002008-02-20T22:24:22.932-06:00

Two of North Dakota's oldest elected officials have recently announced that they will be seeking re-election to their respective offices. Senator Byron Dorgan, who is up for re-election in 2010, typically chooses to wait much longer to announce his re-election bids. This year, however, with John Hoeven as his likely challenger, Dorgan has decided to announce early. An early announcement will help

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572015.post-13633501520495168312008-02-13T21:16:00.005-06:002008-02-13T21:37:02.282-06:00

With Barack Obama now surging in the polls and collecting more delegates than Hillary Clinton, it's time to take a serious look into what an Obama Presidency would mean. It's not that hard to imagine, actually, since Obama and Clinton are virtually the same person in terms of their political ideologies. Despite Obama's efforts to portray himself as a uniter and not a divider, he cannot hide the

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04574395655014200577noreply@blogger.com2