Party conventions open in North Dakota with GOP divided and Democrats searching for candidates

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — As North Dakota’s Republican and Democratic parties gather for endorsing conventions this week, they face very different challenges.

For Republicans, it’s a question of whether top candidates will keep seeking the party’s endorsement. For Democrats, it’s an even tougher question of whether there will be a full slate of candidates to endorse.

The state’s dominant Republican Party is divided, and the once-mighty Democrats haven’t won a statewide office in over a decade and were still lacking candidates days ahead of their convention.

The state’s lone U.S. House member, Kelly Armstrong, is seeking the GOP endorsement for governor — a political prize past candidates have fought for vigorously. But the other Republican running for governor, Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller, said she won’t attend the convention and will run in the June primary election for voters to decide the nominee. And in the race for the state’s only U.S. House seat, Republican candidates have eyed the primary, as well.

The conventions’ endorsements are set for Friday and Saturday in Fargo.

Past candidates have skipped the convention or ignored its results and gone on to win the primary. But the endorsement isn’t to be discounted, according to Bob Harms, a longtime party member and a delegate in every convention since 1988, but for this year.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Expecting a lawsuit, North Dakota lawmakers estimate $1 million to defend congressional age limit </bsp-custom-headline>