The 2016 North Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of North Dakota, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. This would have been the first time North Dakotans selected a governor under new voter ID requirements, in which a student ID was insufficient identification to vote, but a court ruling in August 2016 struck down the provision; the election was held under the 2013 rules.
The primaries took place on June 14. This is the first open seat election since 2000. Incumbent Republican Jack Dalrymple announced that he would not run for re-election to a second full term in office. Businessman Doug Burgum (R) defeated state Representative Marvin Nelson (DNPL) in the general election to become the new governor of North Dakota.
Background
In December 2010, Republican Governor John Hoeven resigned after being elected to the U.S. Senate. Jack Dalrymple, the lieutenant governor, was sworn in as governor and was elected to a full term in 2012. In August 2015, Dalrymple announced that he would not run for re-election to a second full term in office.
Republican primary
The North Dakota Republican Party endorsed North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem at their April 2–3 state convention. However, ballot access was actually determined by the June 14 primary election, which former Microsoft executive Doug Burgum won in an upset.
Candidates
Endorsed
- Wayne Stenehjem, North Dakota attorney general
- Running mate: Nicole Poolman, state senator and wife of Jim Poolman
Other candidates
- Doug Burgum, former senior vice president of Microsoft and former chairman & CEO of Great Plains Software
- Running mate: Brent Sanford, Watford City mayor
- Paul Sorum, architect
- Running mate: Michael Coachman, human resources executive
Withdrawn
- Rick Becker, state representative
Declined
- Tom Campbell, state senator
- Kevin Cramer, U.S. representative
- Jack Dalrymple, incumbent governor
- Ed Schafer, former governor and former United States secretary of agriculture
- Kelly Schmidt, North Dakota State Treasurer (running for re-election)
- Drew Wrigley, lieutenant governor
Republican State Convention
To endorse a candidate, delegates to the Republican state convention voted for one candidate in a series of rounds. After the first round, all candidates would remain on the ballot, but after subsequent rounds of voting, the recipient of the lowest number of votes would be removed. The first candidate to receive more than half the cast vote would receive the state party endorsement.
After no candidate received the majority in the first round, a second round of voting was completed, in which enough delegates voted for Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem to give him the endorsement without having to remove a candidate from the ballot or vote again.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Endorsed
- Marvin Nelson, state representative
- Running mate: Joan Heckaman, state senator
Declined
- Ellen Chaffee, nominee for lieutenant governor in 2012
- Heidi Heitkamp, U.S. senator and nominee for governor in 2000
- Tim Mathern, state senator and nominee for governor in 2008
- Tracy Potter, former state senator, nominee for U.S. Senate in 2010 and nominee for superintendent of public instruction in 2012
- George B. Sinner, state senator and nominee for North Dakota's at-large congressional district in 2014
- Ryan Taylor, USDA Rural Development state director, former state senator, nominee for governor in 2012 and nominee for agriculture commissioner in 2014
- Sarah Vogel, former North Dakota agriculture commissioner and candidate for the North Dakota Supreme Court in 1996
Libertarian Party
Candidates
Endorsed
- Marty Riske, businessman and former state party chairman
- Running mate: Joshua Voytek
General election
Debates
- Complete video of debate, October 10, 2016 - C-SPAN
Results
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Benson (largest city: Fort Totten)
- McHenry (largest city: Velva)
- Pierce (largest city: Rugby)
- Ransom (largest city: Lisbon)