In Fargo debate, four Republican U.S. House candidates jockey to position themselves as the most trustworthy

May 24—FARGO — Each of the four Republican U.S. House candidates who participated in a debate Friday morning stressed the importance of trust, dependability and experience. Throughout the debate, topics ranged from election integrity following the 2021 presidential election, to whether Gov. Doug Burgum should be a running mate in Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

"This race really comes down to three things," Bismarck resident Julie Fedorchak, a member of the North Dakota Public Service Commission, said in her opening remarks. "First of all, who has the experience to step right in and do the job? Secondly, who is strong enough to stand up to the liberals in D.C. like Nancy Pelosi and (U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)? And finally, who do you trust to be the lone voice for North Dakota in the U.S. House?"

The debate, hosted by radio station KFGO in Fargo Friday morning, May 24, was attended by four out of five Republican candidates for North Dakota's lone U.S. House seat. The candidates were Fedorchak; Alex Balazs, a veteran from Cando; Cara Mund, an attorney from Bismarck; and Rick Becker, a former state legislator from Bismarck. Sharlet Mohr, of Williston, was the only Republican candidate who did not attend the debate.

Balazs further pushed the point of experience when speaking about the issues he hears most about — securing the border, cutting debt, limiting government and concern over foreign policy — and how the differing candidates' experiences will frame the way they work in the House.

"You get to decide what experience you're going to send to Washington," he said.

Cara Mund, an attorney from Bismarck, said all candidates participating in the debate will have common points, although she argued she is more moderate than the others, who she alleges represent Trump.

As the debate turned to Trump's ongoing trial regarding alleged hush money, Mund highlighted her opponents' connections to the former president.

"North Dakotans want a leader who's going to rule with truth, transparency, accountability. And every single one of my opponents want to overlook the evidence, overlook the facts, just to be a talking head for Donald Trump," she said. "They're not here to represent North Dakotans. They're here to represent Donald Trump."

Becker, a former state legislator from Bismarck, challenged his opponents' comments about him, and his reputation for being difficult to work with.

"My opponents have called me too conservative, too far right," he said. "They say I'm too much of a fighter. I won't compromise. And they're right, and I don't apologize for that. I'm a principled conservative with a record of not compromising with a reputation for being a fighter. That's what we need in Congress. That's what I will be in Congress, and that's how we will secure the border and we will get inflation under control."

Balazs, Becker, Fedorchak, Mund and Mohr will be on the ballot in North Dakota's June 11 primary. They are running for incumbent Kelly Armstrong's spot, as he is not running this year and instead is running for governor. The five candidates will compete in the November election against the Democratic nominee.

The debate wasn't always cordial. When the candidates were asked whether they would have voted to certify the presidential election in 2021, Fedorchak said she would not answer, as she wasn't in Congress at the time and won't go through a "what if." Mund — who said she would have voted to certify the election — repeatedly pushed Fedorchak to give an answer. Fedorchak in turn accused Mund of attacking the other candidates because she doesn't have her own accomplishments or service to tout.

Fedorchak also accused Becker of flip-flopping his positions, and accused him of having a poor track record when working with others. Becker accused Fedorchak of using repeated talking points and being a "country club Republican" who takes his comments out of context.

Other topics of the debate included abortion, Social Security, Gov. Burgum's connection to Trump and funding being sent to Ukraine.

Three of the four candidates voiced their issues with the Trump hush money trial. Balazs encouraged listeners to look deeper into the situation and the "angertainment" it is providing, and argued that it is happening to keep Trump from being in office.

"Look forward to where we're going to be in November," he said. "These lawsuits are going to go away. They're going to be found to be frivolous or they're not going to have the information."

Fedorchak claimed the trial is a distraction from what she described as President Joe Biden's failed leadership of the country and the problems that have arisen during his presidency.

"There have been eight million people walking into this country illegally," she said. "There are terrorists, there are drug cartels that have come into our communities because he's just ignored the border. ... People are paying more, and this is a direct result of Biden's failed leadership, and it's a distraction from the growing concerns internationally."

Becker called the trial a "railroad job" on Trump, and said it is a weaponization of bureaucratic government agencies.

"If we want to avoid being a banana republic, we cannot allow that to happen."

Mund disagreed with her opponents' opinions, saying no one is above the law and leaders should not politicize the court system.

"I hope the North Dakota voter listens to all three of those answers, because every one of my opponents is a puppet for Trump," she said. "This is not a distraction."

On the topic of contraceptives and abortion, some candidates did share opinions. Mund and Balazs said conservative Republicans need to take care of and stand up for women, and Becker and Fedorchak both said they were not in favor of restrictions on contraceptives. However, only Mund voiced support for abortion. Mund said she is frustrated that she is the only candidate supporting women and women's health care.

"We need to advocate for women and I'm the only one doing it," she said. "As a conservative, I support limited government. The government should not be in your bedroom, they should not be in your doctor's appointments. These are decisions between the patient and the doctor."

Fedorchak rebutted that Mund was using a liberal euphemism that abortion is women's health care, when that is a broader topic than just abortions.

"Women's health care includes mammography, includes mental health, includes osteoporosis," Fedorchak said. "There's so much more involved in supporting women and women's health care, and I believe that supporting women to choose life is the best."

Balazs said conservative Republicans should take care of mothers, and that he is not in support of criminally prosecuting mothers for abortions.

"The issue here is, we get into this mix, and then people pander to women," he said. "That's not where we need to be. Republican conservatives need to take care of moms, and we can do that."

Becker said he has maintained a strong pro-life position since 2014, though previously did have more pro-choice opinions, which Fedorchak also brought up.

"I am not in favor of restricting access to contraception," he said. "I am opposed to abortion medication."

When asked whether they would have voted yes or no on the recent $61 billion of assistance passed and signed into law for Ukraine, only Becker said no. Balazs, who previously said at the Republican Convention he was against the assistance, said yes. He explained that he changed his opinion when he read the bill more thoroughly, and added that he is taking into account the different stage the war is in now.

"When that bill comes forward, we're in a different stage of the war, aren't we?" he said. "When we were at the convention, we already passed a number of times, and now Ukraine is back on their heels because we failed to take steps to let NATO and other people fund them."

Becker explained his opinion against sending money to Ukraine has to do with the debt the U.S. is currently facing.

"It's crazy to me that a nation in as much debt as we are — $35 trillion in debt — that we would take on more debt to send to a country that we know is rife with corruption," he said.

Fedorchak and Mund both voiced support for the monetary assistance, the former talking about having an international role and the latter talking about the cost benefit analysis of looking at a funding bill.

"We've got to push back on Putin and we have to support the Ukrainians in their efforts for independence and democracy," Fedorchak said.

"We either stop the war now and help fund it or we potentially fight it here on our land," Mund said.