Grafton Republican Tom Campbell drops out of US House race

Mar. 26—GRAND FORKS — Tom Campbell, a Republican from Grafton, has ended his campaign for U.S. House.

The former state senator made the announcement in a Facebook post Tuesday afternoon, March 26, noting he reached the decision after "a great deal of soul searching and prayer."

"I feel it would be a better use of my time to avoid a negative campaign, ignoring any threats and focus on the positive, where I can contribute to the well-being of others," he wrote in the post. "At a time where there seems to be too much division and anger, I believe I can make more of a difference taking a different path rather than as one in 435 in Congress."

Campbell seemingly referenced an accusation

he made last week

to Forum Communications columnist Rob Port that fellow Republican U.S. House candidate Julie Fedorchak's campaign staff tried to push him out of the race.

"Julie's campaign called my campaign and threatened me," he told Port. Fedorchak's campaign has denied the claims.

Port reported that the alleged threat was to make an issue of Campbell's residency and his family's decision to sell farmland to Microsoft founder Bill Gates. According to Port's column, Campbell defended the land sale as a good business decision and said the residency questions may stem from the fact that he owns a lake house in Minnesota.

He also announced earlier this month that he

would not attend

the NDGOP convention, citing his belief that the party is "increasingly in danger of losing its way and becoming another swamp."

During Campbell's

two-month

campaign, he set his sights on

visiting all 244 cities in North Dakota

with a population above 100. He told the Grand Forks Herald last week that as he worked toward that goal, he met a wide variety of people, sometimes in small towns that have rarely or never had a visit from a congressional candidate.

It's work he said he found rewarding.

"Over the past few months, my Tom's 244 Town Tour has allowed me to travel extensively, covering 11,000 miles and listening to the concerns of our people," his Facebook post reads. "Through this journey, I've come to realize that our state's greatest asset is not ag or oil but the people.

"While there is a great deal of uneasiness amongst our citizens of North Dakota, there is also a great desire to see an end to our deep division."

Still in the race for North Dakota's lone U.S. House seat are Fedorchak, the Republican state Public Service Commissioner from Bismarck; former North Dakota state Rep. Rick Becker, a Republican from Bismarck; and retired farmer Alex Balazs, a Republican from Cando. The three Republicans are now vying for the NDGOP's nomination, which will be decided at the party convention in Fargo starting Friday, April 5.

Trygve Hammer, District 5 chairman for the Democratic-NPL Party, is so far the only declared Democratic candidate for the seat.