04/07/2026
If you are wondering what is happening in the NDGOP representing the Republican party this is a good read ( not my writing) from a response to another post
Derek Fore Appels Quote “This gets it exactly backward. The 707 delegates who showed up in Minot weren’t some narrow “faction” who outlasted everyone else through procedural tricks. They were the elected grassroots representatives of the Republican Party — the precinct leaders, district chairs, and dedicated volunteers who actually do the year-in, year-out work of organizing, knocking doors, and building the party. The real story of the 2026 NDGOP State Convention isn’t disrespect for non-attendees. It’s that every single statewide Republican incumbent chose to skip the official gathering of their own party, an unprecedented snub that sent a clear message: they no longer feel accountable to the Republican base that put them in office.
Let’s be blunt about what the piece calls “a faction.” It’s not a shadowy cabal. It’s principled conservatives who spent years taking back control of district organizations the old-fashioned way — by showing up consistently when others didn’t. Yes, meetings can get long when people care enough to fight over rules and platform. That’s what happens when activists refuse to rubber-stamp the status quo. The people who stayed until the votes were cast are the ones who still believe the Republican Party should stand for something more than just keeping the “R” next to a name.
The piece claims these delegates view North Dakota voters with “disdain.” That’s projection. The disdain is coming from incumbents who treat the party’s own convention like an optional social club they’re too important to attend. These are the same officeholders who have spent years in power while North Dakota’s conservative platform — limited government, personal responsibility, the right to life, traditional values rooted in our state’s Christian heritage, strong support for energy independence, and fidelity to the Constitution — has been treated as optional. Delegates passed resolutions this weekend reaffirming exactly those principles, including adherence to the party platform by elected officials. If that feels radical to some incumbents, perhaps it’s because they’ve drifted.
North Dakotans do deserve credit — which is precisely why the convention process matters. The semi-open primary system the piece defends allows independents and even Democrats to cross over and pick our nominees. Name recognition and establishment money often win out over principle. The convention, by contrast, is where the most committed Republicans — the ones who show up for caucuses, volunteer, and donate their own time and money — get to hold candidates accountable. When incumbents skip that step and go straight to the primary, they’re not bravely “respecting the voters.” They’re dodging the very people who built the Republican supermajority in this state.
The piece worries that convention-endorsed candidates have “narrower appeal.” History says otherwise. North Dakota voters keep electing Republicans because they want conservative governance — not moderate management. When candidates stray from the platform (higher spending, weak resistance to federal overreach, or soft-pedaling on life and family issues), voters notice. The primary isn’t some pure expression of the “will of the people”; it’s often the triumph of inertia and familiarity. That’s why the convention delegates supported resolutions calling for the abolition of partisan primaries and a return to party nominations — a move that would let the people who actually build the party choose the standard-bearers, just as the Democrats and other parties do elsewhere.
The idea that skipping the convention somehow represents a “larger tent” is backwards. The tent is largest when it’s anchored in shared values instead of diluted by officeholders who treat the Republican label as a brand they can ignore when inconvenient. The delegates weren’t trying to shrink the party; they were trying to make sure it still stands for the principles that made it dominant in North Dakota in the first place.
Incumbents who stayed home disrespected every volunteer and precinct officer who drove to Minot, paid their own way, and stayed through the debates. If they truly represent North Dakota values, they should have been there to make their case — and to listen. Instead, they sent a video or skipped entirely. That’s not leadership. That’s complacency.
North Dakota Republicans are defined by more than 707 people — but those 707 are the ones still fighting for the platform the broader electorate actually supports at the ballot box. The primary on June 9 will be important, no question. But the clearest signal of who truly represents the values of North Dakota citizens won’t come from name recognition alone. It will come from voters who choose candidates willing to show up, stand on principle, and fight for the platform — not the ones who treat the party’s own convention as beneath them.
The tent needs to be big. But it also needs to have a floor. That floor is the Republican platform and the activists willing to defend it. The convention reminded everyone where that floor is. The voters will decide in the primary whether they still want it there.
