2026 is an election year for roughly half of the seats in North Dakota's Legislative Assembly. Under the state's staggered four-year cycle, all 24 odd-numbered legislative districts elect both their House representatives and their Senator this cycle, plus Districts 26 and 42 are holding special elections to fill seats with unexpired terms. That puts 24 Senate seats and 50 House seats in play before November.  

Note: North Dakota legislators from even-numbered districts will be up for election in 2028.  

Arm yourself with these early insights to get a head start on advocacy as you look ahead to the 2027 session.  

Current Chamber Composition: 

• The ND House of Representatives is made up of 83 Republican and 11 Democratic-NPL members.  

• 50 out of 94 seats are up for re-election in November 2026.  

• The ND Senate is made up of 42 Republican and 5 Democratic-NPL members.  

• 24 out of 47 seats are up for re-election in November 2026.  

Key Dates: 

• April 6, 2026 – Filing deadline to run in a primary.  

• June 9, 2026 – Primary Elections.  

• November 3, 2026 – General Election.  

• January 5, 2027 – Start of ND Legislative Session.  

Key Reminders: 

• Term Length: Legislators in both chambers serve four-year terms, with staggered elections; odd-numbered districts are up for election in 2026, with even-numbered districts up for election in 2028.  

• Term Limits: In 2022, North Dakota voters approved an 8-year term limit for both chambers, effective January 2023. No sitting legislator is forced out by term limits this cycle. 

Key Takeaways 

• 50 House Seats and 24 Senate Seats are up for election in 2026 – odd-numbered districts plus special elections in the House for Districts 26 and 42 

• 18 House Incumbents and 2 Senate Incumbents are not seeking re-election, including three fully open House Districts (7, 11, and 41) where both Incumbent members will not be returning 

• 3 House Members are running for Senate seats in their own districts 

• Term limits are in effect – while they will not force anyone out this cycle, members elected in 2026 will be limited to 8 years in office 

Incumbents Not Seeking Re-Election 

2 Senate Incumbents (1 R and 1 D) and 18 House Incumbents (13 R and 5 D) are not seeking re-election for the 2027 Session. Below is a list of all 20 incumbents who are not seeking re-election: 

Senate (2): 

• Sen. Randy A. Burckhard (R-District 5; Pt. Ward) 

• Sen. Kathy Hogan (D-District 21; Pt. Cass) 

House (18): 

Republican Incumbents not seeking re-election (13) 

• Rep. Patrick R. Hatlestad (R-District 1; Pt. Williams) 

• Rep. Lori VanWinkle (R-District 3; Pt. Ward) 

• Rep. Jay Fisher (R-District 5; Pt. Ward) 

• Rep. Jason Dockter (R-District 7; Pt. Burleigh) 

• Rep. Matthew Heilman (R-District 7; Pt. Burleigh) 

• Rep. Landon Bahl (R-District 17; Pt. Grand Forks) 

• Rep. Nico Rios (R-District 23; Pt. Williams) 

• Rep. TJ Brown (R-District 27; Pt. Cass) 

• Rep. Don Vigesaa (R-District 29; Foster, Griggs, Pt. Nelson, Steele, Pt. Stutsman) 

• Rep. Mike Lefor (R-District 37; Pt. Stark) 

• Rep. Karen Grindberg (R-District 41; Pt. Cass) 

• Rep. Jorin Johnson (R-District 41; Pt. Cass) 

• Rep. Lawrence R. Klemin (R-District 47; Pt. Burleigh) 

Democratic-NPL Incumbents not seeking re-election (5) 

• Rep. Jayme Davis (D-District 9; Pt. Benson, Pt. Eddy, Pt. Nelson, Pt. Pierce, Pt. Ramsey, Rolette) 

• Rep. Adam Goldwyn (D-District 11; Pt. Cass) 

• Rep. Gretchen Dobervich (D-District 11; Pt. Cass) 

• Rep. Mary Schneider (D-District 21; Pt. Cass) 

• Rep. Zachary Ista (D-District 43; Pt. Grand Forks) 

Worth noting: 

• In House Districts 7, 11, and 41, both incumbent Representatives are not seeking re-election.  

• Reps. Davis, Schneider, and Fisher are all declining to seek re-election for their current House seats, and are instead seeking election to the Senate 

Contested Primaries 

Senate (5) 

There are 5 contested primaries occurring in the ND Senate. In all of these races, the incumbent Senator has primary challengers.  

• Republican Primary, District 7 (Pt. Burleigh) – Sen. Michelle Axtman (i) v. Jerri Hopfauf 

• Democratic-NPL Primary, District 9 (Pt. Benson, Pt. Eddy, Pt. Nelson, Pt. Pierce, Pt. Ramsey, Rolette) – Sen. Richard Marcellais (i) v. Jayme Davis  

• Republican Primary, District 13 (Pt. Cass) – Sen. Judy Lee (i) v. Philip Sallberg  

• Republican Primary, District 15 (Pt. Cavalier, Pt. Ramsey, Towner) – Sen. Kent Weston (i) v. Judy Estenson v. Kristin Kenner 

• Republican Primary, District 31 (Grant, Pt. Hettinger, Pt. Morton, Sioux) – Sen. Donald Schaible (i) v. Mary Graner 

House – Regular Republican Primaries (12) 

In North Dakota’s two-seat House districts, the top two candidates from each party advance from the primary to the November general election. A Republican primary is genuinely contested when more than two Republican candidates are in the race – no Democratic-NPL House primaries meet that threshold this cycle.  

• District 3 (Pt. Ward) – Rep. Jeff Hoverson (i) v. Blaine DesLauriers v. Crystal Hendrickson v. Timothy Mihalick 

• District 7 (Pt. Burleigh) – Gaylynn Becker v. Rick Becker v. Steve Sauter v. Greg Vetter 

• District 13 (Pt. Cass) – Rep. Jim Jonas (i) v. Rep. Austen Schauer (i) v. Russell Bubach v. Everett Duckworth 

• District 15 (Pt. Cavalier, Pt. Ramsey, Towner) – Rep. Kathy Frelich (i) v. Rep. Donna Henderson (i) v. Corry Kenner 

• District 23 (Pt. Williams) – Rep. Dennis Nehring (i) v. Corey Johnson v. Sharlet Mohr 

• District 25 (Richland, Pt. Sargent) – Rep. Kathy Skroch (i) v. Matt Evans v. Terry Goerger 

• District 27 (Pt. Cass) – Rep. Gregory Stemen (i) v. Grant Allex v. Shawn Kessel 

• District 31 (Grant, Pt. Hettinger, Pt. Morton, Sioux) – Rep. Dawson Holle (i) v. Rep. Karen Rohr (i) v. Kevin K Remington v. Jim Schmidt 

• District 33 (Pt. McLean, Pt. Mercer, Pt. Morton, Oliver) – Rep. Anna S. Novak (i) v. Rep. Bill Tveit (i) v. Jesus Albry Aguirre v. Mike Heger 

• District 39 (Adams, Billings, Bowman, Pt. Dunn, Golden Valley, Pt. Hettinger, Slope, Pt. Stark) – Rep. Keith Kempenich (i) v. Rep. Mike Schatz (i) v. Jason Dodge 

• District 43 (Pt. Grand Forks) – Rep. Eric J Murphy (i) v. Jill T Chandler v. Mike Holmes 

Special House Elections: Unexpired Terms 

Two even-numbered House districts are holding special elections in 2026 to fill seats vacated by resigned members. Both seats are for unexpired terms – the winners will serve through 2028 before the district returns to its standard even-year election cycle.  

• District 26 (Pt. Dunn, Pt. McKenzie) 

• Incumbent: Rep. Kelby Timmons (R) – assumed office on May 24, 2025, filling the seat of former Rep. Jeremy Olsen. 

• Brent Schwan (R) is the only candidate currently on the ballot, and is likely to win the seat in November.  

• District 42 (Pt. Grand Forks) 

• Incumbent: Rep. Dustin McNally (R) – assumed office on September 19, 2025, filling the seat of former Rep. Emily O’Brien.  

• District 42 will see a contested Republican primary as incumbent Rep. Dustin McNally faces challengers Connie Osowski and Ethan Harsell.  

Cross-Chamber Moves to Watch 

Three incumbent House members are vacating their seats to run for Senate positions in their own districts.  

• Rep. Jay Fisher (R-District 5; Pt. Ward) – running for open Senate District 5 seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Randy Burckhard (R) 

• Rep. Jayme Davis (D-District 9; Pt. Benson, Pt. Eddy, Pt. Nelson, Pt. Pierce, Pt. Ramsey, Rolette) – challenging incumbent Sen. Richard Marcellais (D) in the Senate District 9 Democratic-NPL primary 

• Rep. Mary Schneider (D-District 21; Pt. Cass) – running for the open Senate District 21 seat being vacated by Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan (D) 

November General Election Outlook 

Senate 

Five Senate Incumbents, all Republican, are running unopposed with no primary challengers and no general election opponent.  

• Sen. Brad Bekkedahl (R-District 1; Pt. Williams) 

• Sen. Todd Beard (R-District 23; Pt. Williams) 

• Sen. Kristin Roers (R-District 27; Pt. Cass) 

• Sen. Dean Rummel (R-District 37; Pt. Stark) 

• Sen. Greg Kessel (R-District 39; Adams, Billings, Bowman, Pt. Dunn, Golden Valley, Pt. Hettinger, Slope, Pt. Stark) 

House 

Given the multi-member districts and bloc voting structure for the House, the November picture is more fluid. Based on current primary filings: 

• District 9 and District 21 have no Republican primary candidates on file, putting Democratic-NPL candidates in a strong position for November 

• District 27 has no Democratic-NPL primary candidates on file – whoever wins the primary election will likely face no Democratic-NPL opponent in November.  

• In all other House districts up for election, both Democratic-NPL and Republican candidates have filed, setting up potential contested November races across the board. 

Summary 

With over half of the seats in North Dakota’s Legislative Assembly on the ballot in November, the results of the June primaries foreshadow where turnover is possible, which incumbents face challengers, and who is positioned to return for the 2027-2028 legislative session.  

As a reminder, the key takeaways are: 

• 50 House Seats and 24 Senate Seats are up for election in 2026 – odd-numbered districts plus special elections in the House for Districts 26 and 42 

• 18 House Incumbents and 2 Senate Incumbents are not seeking re-election, including three fully open House Districts (7, 11, and 41) where both Incumbent members will not be returning 

• 3 House Members are running for Senate seats in their own districts 

• Term limits are in effect – while they will not force anyone out this cycle, members elected in 2026 will be limited to 8 years in office 

  
  

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Sources: Roboro, ND Secretary of State, Ballotpedia