NORTH DAKOTA (KXNET) — Although Bismarck is the capitol, Fargo is the largest city in the state, and when it comes to elections, a lot of sway comes from the east side.

KX News spoke with the NDGOP’s First Vice Chairman, John Trandem, who shares what the Republican legwork looks like in the larger city.

“When you look at a statewide election, Fargo is pivotal. You’ve gotta win Fargo if you’re gonna win in North Dakota, or I should say, you’ve got to win in Cass County. So there’s a lot of work to be done here,” said Trandem. 

He shares that, as an organizational body, the United Republican Committee of Cass County meets monthly and works to get people together, engaged, and involved in the process.

Trandem says their goals are simply to elect Republicans.

“So we’re hoping we can continue to build on our legislative majorities, which we’re at, I don’t know if you’d say critical mass, but we’re right up there. We control the lion’s share of the legislative assembly seats, but that doesn’t mean we don’t wanna keep on winning. We want to continue to elect Republicans in the statewide offices as well as our national delegation,” Trandem said. 

So, what’s next for the NDGOP?

“We’ve got an upcoming convention in 2024 to endorse our candidates for statewide office and we encourage all people across North Dakota that share our values and are in the Republican platform to be participants,” said Trandem. 

Trandem says he believes the party has strength in numbers. 

He shares that the more people they are able to engage with, the higher the odds the party will win more elections, and flip more seats in our state. 

When KX News last spoke with our state’s DEM NPL party, their focus was also recruitment, and to make sure they fill more seats throughout the state and not just the east side.

Later this month, KX News will be doing a political round table discussion, beginning with our state Dem NPL party.