Caucus results show that in Grand Forks, GOP remains the party of Donald Trump

Mar. 5—GRAND FORKS — Monday night's GOP caucus affirmed that for Grand Forks Republicans, much like their peers across the state and increasingly the country, former President Donald Trump is their candidate of choice to run against President Joe Biden in November.

Trump received a little more than 80% of the 176 ballots cast at the Ramada Inn ballroom Monday evening, a slightly smaller share than

the 84% of votes and all 29 delegates

he received statewide.

Slightly more than 9% of all votes in the GOP caucuses, which took place simultaneously at 12 polling centers across the state, were cast in Grand Forks.

"The turnout was great, and it went very smoothly," said venue captain and Republican state Rep. Claire Corey, who said she voted for Trump.

Caucus-goers said they believe that, if elected, Trump will better handle the economy, take a hardline stance on immigration from the southern border and tackle culture war issues.

Joe Cozart didn't care for Trump "the first time around," but said he believes Trump is the best candidate to take on Biden. He said he feels social movements like Black Lives Matter and the #MeToo movement are infringing on free speech, and said the country is in a decline comparable to the Roman Empire.

"It's just all gotten out of hand," Cozart said. "Cancel culture and the woke environment — whatever that means."

Harry Zou, a 37-year-old Chinese emigrant who served in the U.S. military, said he feels Trump better projects strength than Biden.

Ryan Graham, a 34-year-old FedEx driver, said he believes Trump will push back against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and see that critical race theory can't be taught in schools.

Wendy Machart, of Park River, North Dakota, said she voted for Trump because she was "sick of hearing about climate change," calling it "a bunch of bogus crap."

"I just bought a 6.2 (liter engine)," she said. "I want to drill."

Meanwhile, Republican presidential caniddate Nikki Haley, whose stump speech managed to be broadcast for most of its airtime while caucus organizers worked through technical issues with the ballroom audio, received 34 votes in Grand Forks.

Ben Walter, a flight instructor at UND, was still waiting to cast his ballot when he spoke to the Herald, but said he was leaning toward Haley.

"Trump hasn't really conducted himself to the level I look for in presidential candidates," Walter said. "I still think Nikki is conservative enough, but in terms of personal standards, she's a lot better."

After voters cast their ballots, many hung out in the ballroom to watch a slate of speakers broadcast over Zoom by the state GOP, though technical issues meant caucus-goers could only hear the candidates' messages for the back half of the broadcast.

Former state Sen. Tom Campbell, who's on a quest to visit all 244 cities in North Dakota with more than 100 people as part of his bid for the state's only U.S. House seat, was the event's sole live speaker.

"I worry for the country," Campbell said. "But every time I hear Trump speak, I worry a little less."

Prior to the speech, Campbell stood in the back of the room with former UND Center for Innovation head Bruce Gjovig, discussing the traits that turned voters off Trump, like the candidate's reputation for bullying.

"You either love him or hate him, and right now I'd say 85%, 90% of North Dakotans love him," Campbell told the Herald.

Most local elected officials said they'd voted for Trump — and if they didn't, they kept it to themselves.

State Rep. Emily O'Brien said she voted for Trump, as did state Rep. Steve Vetter. State Sen. Jeff Barta declined to say either way.

Terry Bjerke, the former Grand Forks City Council member who has announced a bid for a County Commission seat, was making laps around the ballroom collecting signatures.

He cast his ballot for Trump, though he said he wished the candidate would be more fiscally conservative. Also, he dislikes Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates will add between $1 to $2 trillion to the federal debt.

"It's all Democrats and probably 75% of Republicans are not taking the fiscal situation seriously," he said.

State Rep. Eric Murphy also expressed concerns about the Republican and Democratic frontrunners' fiscal policy.

"It's pretty obvious who's probably going to win the state," he said. "But I think we have to be cautious as we move forward as a country because we're borrowing far more money than we should."

He declined to say who he voted for — only that "it's not who the majority voted for."

Scott Schofield,

running as a Republican for state House

District 18, said

"we need new ideas, new perspectives, new energy."

"I know I'm not going to agree with everyone on every issue, but I think we can find room to have common ground," he said. "I think we can agree we'd rather have a Republican in office than a Democrat."