2020 United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota

The 2020 United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the U.S. representative from North Dakota's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.

2020 United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota's at-large district

← 2018 November 3, 2020 2022 →
Turnout	61.16% ^[1]
Nominee Kelly Armstrong Zach Raknerud Party Republican Democratic–NPL Popular vote 245,229 97,970 Percentage 69.0% 27.6%
County results Precinct results Armstrong:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Raknerud:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
U.S. Representative before election Kelly Armstrong Republican Elected U.S. Representative Kelly Armstrong Republican

The incumbent is Republican Kelly Armstrong, who was elected with 60.2% of the vote in 2018.^[2]

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Kelly Armstrong, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary results ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kelly Armstrong (incumbent)	99,582	99.54%
	Republican	Write-In	461	0.46%
Total votes			100,043	100.0%

Democratic-NPL primary

Candidates

Declared

• Zach Raknerud, retail manager and Democratic-NPL nominee for District 5 of the North Dakota House of Representatives in 2018^[4]
• Roland Riemers, perennial candidate, winner of the 1996 North Dakota Democratic primary^[5]

Endorsements

Zach Raknerud

Labor unions

• North Dakota AFL–CIO^[6]

Organizations

• North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party^[7]
• DUH! Demand Universal Healthcare^[8]

Primary results

 

Democratic primary results by county:

Zachary Raknerud

•   80–85%
    65–70%
    60–65%
    55–60%
    50–55%
    35–40%

Roland Riemers

•   75–80%
    60–65%
    55–60%
    50–55%
    40–45%

Democratic primary results ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic–NPL	Zach Raknerud	21,394	62.03%
	Democratic–NPL	Roland Riemers	12,747	36.96%
	Democratic–NPL	Write-In	346	1.00%
Total votes			34,487	100.0%

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declared

• Steven Peterson^[9]

Primary results

Libertarian primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Steven Peterson	729	78.47%
	Libertarian	Write-In	200	22.36%
Total votes			929	100.0%

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[10]	Safe R	November 2, 2020
Inside Elections^[11]	Safe R	October 28, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[12]	Safe R	November 2, 2020
Politico^[13]	Safe R	November 2, 2020
Daily Kos^[14]	Safe R	November 2, 2020
RCP^[15]	Safe R	November 2, 2020

Results

North Dakota's at-large congressional district, 2020^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Kelly Armstrong (incumbent)	245,229	68.96%	+8.76%
	Democratic–NPL	Zach Raknerud	97,970	27.55%	−8.02%
	Libertarian	Steven Peterson	12,024	3.38%	N/A
	n/a	Write-ins	375	0.11%	N/A
Total votes			355,598	100.0%
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Cass (largest city: Fargo)
• Grand Forks (largest city: Grand Forks)
• Benson (Largest CDP: Fort Totten)
• Ransom (Largest city: Lisbon)
• Steele (Largest city: Finley)

References

1. "Voter Turnout Details". North Dakota Secretary of State. November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
2. Wasserman, David; Flinn, Ally (November 7, 2018). "2018 House Popular Vote Tracker". Cook Political Report. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
3. "Statewide Results". North Dakota Secretary of State. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
4. Dura, Jack (January 27, 2020). "Candidates Emerge in North Dakota's 2020 U.S. House Race". The Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
5. Notermann, Jacob (June 1, 2020). "Dem primary heating up". KFYR.
6. "Labor Endorsed Candidates for November 2020". North Dakota AFL–CIO. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
7. "North Dakota Democrats Endorse 2020 State, Congressional Candidates". The Bismarck Tribune. March 22, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
8. . DUH! Demand Universal Healthcare. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
9. "Candidate for Congress Steven Peterson ~ Easing the Need for Foster Care". Prairie Public News. August 12, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
10. "2020 House Race Ratings for November 2, 2020". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
11. "2020 House Ratings". The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
12. "2020 House race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
13. "2020 Election Forecast". Politico. April 5, 2021.
14. "2020 House Race Ratings". Daily Kos Elections. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
15. "Battle for House 2020". RCP. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
16. "OFFICIAL (WITHOUT RECOUNTS) 2020 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS: Representative in Congress". North Dakota Election Officials. Retrieved November 17, 2020.

External links

• Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "North Dakota", Voting & Elections Toolkits
• "North Dakota: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
• "League of Women Voters of North Dakota". (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
• North Dakota at Ballotpedia

Official campaign websites

• Kelly Armstrong (R) for Congress
• Zach Raknerud (D) for Congress