WAHPETON, N.D. — The head of North Dakota elections won’t accept an appointment to replace the late state
because the state Republican Party has not officially recognized her district’s leadership.
District 25 Republicans announced Friday morning, June 20, that an executive committee appointed Terry Goerger, of Mantador, to fill Schreiber-Beck’s seat until the next general election in November 2026. Schreiber-Beck, a Wahpeton Republican who was first elected in 2014,
Contributed / District 25 Republican Party
Hours after the announcement, Secretary of State Michael Howe said in a news release the seat will remain vacant. The North Dakota Republican Party claims District 25 has “not duly elected” a chairperson or committee, Howe wrote in a letter to Ann Smith, who has identified herself as the district’s chair.
“The secretary of state cannot establish certainty as to the leadership of the District 25 Republicans, and therefore cannot issue a certificate of appointment, as the letter requesting the appointment is not from a chairman recognized in the district by the NDGOP,” the release said.
Smith did not answer several phone messages left by The Forum, but in an emailed response, she said, “There are details that need to be settled.”
Goerger declined to comment for this story.
District 25 held several reorganizations in an attempt to elect a chairperson and committee. Former District Chair Erik Nygren said in a Facebook post that an April 26 meeting meant to vote on leadership violated the district’s bylaws and potentially state law.
District 25 covers Richland County and parts of southeast Sargent County.
Nygren called a reorganization meeting for May 10, but the NDGOP said that election was also invalid. The state party’s executive committee determined District 25 did not hold a valid convention by the May 15 deadline, meaning the district does not have an official chair or committee that could appoint Schreiber-Beck’s replacement, according to reports from Forum columnist Rob Port.
“The NDGOP does not recognize a district committee or Chair at this time in District 25, as the district is not currently organized in compliance with the NDGOP rules, North Dakota Century Code, or the District’s own bylaws,” State Republican Chairman Matthew Simon wrote in an email to the Secretary of State’s Office. “We ask that any legislative appointment submitted by the District to the North Dakota Secretary of State be disallowed until which time the District can be properly organized.”
District 25 held a meeting on June 10 to ratify the results of the May 10 reorganization meeting, according to its Facebook page. In a letter to Howe, Smith wrote that District 25’s executive committee voted to appoint Goerger on Tuesday at the Harry Stern Municipal Airport in Wahpeton.
Senate Majority Leader David Hogue seemingly recognized Smith as the district’s chairwoman in a June 10 letter informing the district that it had 21 days to fill the vacancy.
Hogue chairs Legislative Management, a committee that has both House and Senate members. The chair of that committee must inform district leadership about filling legislative vacancies, Howe said.
The NDGOP said the district was not formally organized when Hogue sent the letter, meaning it’s unclear to whom he should have sent the letter about filling the vacancy, Howe wrote in the letter to Smith.
“With no certainty in state law as to who the chairman of legislative management should notify in the event of a district not being organized, and with the NDGOP not recognizing District 25 as having an elected chairman or committee, it is this office’s stance that there may not be a legal path directed in state law for the chairman of legislative management to appoint a resident to fill the vacancy in District 25, nor is there a legal avenue in state law for the secretary of state to issue a certificate of appointment under these circumstances,” Howe wrote. “A certificate of appointment will not be issued until the NDGOP acknowledges that a District 25 Republican Party district exists and is organized.”
Simon said Friday in a statement that he would appoint a temporary District 25 chair. The NDGOP also will send a parliamentarian to District 25 “to support the organization process and ensure that all actions meet legal and procedural standards,” he said.
Simon set an Aug. 31 deadline for the district to choose its leadership.
He did not respond to several messages left by The Forum seeking comment for this story.
