June 9

Primary results

April 10

Total Number: 2

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PARTY CONTROL

Governor: Republican
U.S. Senate: 2 Democrats
U.S. House of Representatives: 1 Democrat at large
State Senate: 18 Democrats, 29 Republicans (2 seats vacant; special
elections to be held in June 1998)
State House of Representatives: 25 Democrats, 69 Republicans (4 seats vacant;
special elections to be held in June 1998)

Senate: 25 seats up
House: All 98 seats up (In 1998, the odd-numbered seats will be elected to
four-year terms and the even-numbered seats will get two-year terms. Even-numbered seats will be elected to four-year terms in 2000.)

None

State Projected Voting Age Population: 474,896 (1998)
No State Voter Registration

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ELECTORAL VOTES

3

Dole won in 1996; Bush in 1992; Bush in 1988; Reagan in 1984; Reagan in 1980; Ford in 1976; Nixon in 1972; Nixon in 1968; Johnson in 1964; Nixon in 1960.

LAST TIME VOTED DEMOCRATIC FOR PRESIDENT: 1964

PRESIDENTIAL VOTE IN 1996:

Dole 47%
Clinton 40%
Perot 12%

PRESIDENTIAL VOTE IN 1992:

Bush 44%
Clinton 32%
Perot 23%

PRESIDENTIAL VOTE IN 1988:

Bush 56%
Dukakis 43%

PRESIDENTIAL VOTE IN 1984:

Reagan 65%
Mondale 34%

PRESIDENTIAL VOTE IN 1980:

Reagan 64%
Carter 26%

1992:

• President
• Senate
• Governor

1996:

• President
• Governor

Historical voter turnout as a percentage of the voting age population 1996-1960

Population: 644,000 (1996)
(% of voting age population)

White: 95.7%
African American: 0.5%
Asian: 0.5%
Native American: 3.1%
Other/Undeclared: 0.2%

Persons of Hispanic origin account for 0.6% of the voting population (from 1990 Census)

State Capital: Bismarck
State Nickname: Sioux State, Flickertail State, Peace Garden State

In a state where everybody seems to know everybody else, dry seasons and bankrupt farmlands in the 1980s explain why North Dakota's population is less now than it was in 1930. Its land yields about one-tenth of the U.S. wheat supply, and agriculture makes up about half of its economy. North Dakota, which tends to send Republicans to Bismarck and Democrats to Washington, has no voter registration. The state motto is "Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable." Dependence on agriculture has had political ramifications for the state, according to the "Almanac of American Politics." In 1996, the state conducted a vote-by-mail primary for the first time. North Dakota has consistently voted Republican in presidential politics for 30 years.

NOTE: External sites will open in a new browser window.

Government:

North Dakota Secretary of State
http://www.state.nd.us/sec/
North Dakota Elections Division
http://www.state.nd.us/sec/Elections%20Division.htm
North Dakota Gov. Edward Schafer's Home Page
http://www.ehs.health.state.nd.us/gov/index.htm
North Dakota State Senate
http://www.state.nd.us/lr/senate/senmembers.html
North Dakota State House of Representatives
http://www2.state.nd.us/lr/house/housemembers.html

News Media:

CNN Affiliates

KXJB (Fargo)
http://www.fargoweb.com/kx4/news/index.html

State Newspapers

Bismarck Tribune
http://www.ndonline.com
Fargo Forum
http://www.in-forum.com

General Interest:

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