Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Doug Goehring
2009 - Present
2027
16
Doug Goehring (Republican Party) is the North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture. He assumed office on April 6, 2009. His current term ends on January 1, 2027.
Goehring (Republican Party) ran for re-election for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Biography
Goehring is a third-generation farmer. He and his son, Dustin, operate a 2,000-acre, no-till farm near Menoken in south-central North Dakota. On their farm, the pair raise corn, soybeans, spring wheat, winter wheat, sunflowers, and canola. Before assuming office, Goehring was president and chairman of the board of Nodak Mutual Insurance Company and a director of American Agricultural Insurance Company. He has served as vice president of the North Dakota Farm Bureau and became a member of several statewide and national farm associations. He was the director of both the United Soybean Board and the North Dakota Soybean Council, secretary/treasurer of the North Dakota Grain Growers Association, and a member of the USDA's Area 4 Research Farm Steering Committee. Goehring also served previously as president of the Menoken School Board and chairman of the Bismarck Mandan Chamber Agriculture Committee.[1]
Education
- Attended Bismarck State College
- Licensed medical laboratory technician[1]
Political career
North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture (2009-Present)
Goehring, a Republican, was appointed as North Dakota commissioner of agriculture in April 2009 and won a full term in November 2010.[1]
Inappropriate comment
In February 2014, Goehring admitted to making an inappropriate comment, which was investigated by North Dakota Human Resources Department. In an email, Goehring explained how he made an inappropriate comment, referring to his staff as a "harem." “I spoke and acted in a politically incorrect manner for today’s modern office,” Goehring wrote in the email. “I meant no ill-will. The complaint was fully investigated by the State Human Resources Division and there was not enough substance in the complaint and no action was deemed necessary. After the incident, on my own accord, I participated in appropriate training. It has always been my goal to provide a working environment at the Ag Department where employees feel comfortable doing their work.” Goehring was expected to face a potential primary challenge from Judy Estenson, a farmer and nurse.[2]
Elections
2022
See also: North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner election, 2022
General election
General election for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture
Incumbent Doug Goehring defeated Fintan Dooley in the general election for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Doug Goehring (R) | 75.7 | 177,443 |
| Fintan Dooley (D) | 24.2 | 56,654 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 408 | ||
| Total votes: 234,505 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture
Fintan Dooley advanced from the Democratic primary for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture on June 14, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Fintan Dooley | 99.7 | 21,161 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 57 | ||
| Total votes: 21,218 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture
Incumbent Doug Goehring advanced from the Republican primary for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture on June 14, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Doug Goehring | 99.7 | 70,239 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 238 | ||
| Total votes: 70,477 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture
Incumbent Doug Goehring defeated Jim Dotzenrod in the general election for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Doug Goehring (R) | 67.8 | 213,689 |
 | Jim Dotzenrod (D) | 32.0 | 100,914 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 656 | ||
| Total votes: 315,259 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture
Jim Dotzenrod advanced from the Democratic primary for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jim Dotzenrod | 100.0 | 32,347 |
| Total votes: 32,347 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture
Incumbent Doug Goehring advanced from the Republican primary for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Doug Goehring | 100.0 | 63,585 |
| Total votes: 63,585 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
Goehring ran for re-election to the office of North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture. Goehring won the Republican nomination in the unopposed primary on June 10. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.[3]
Results
General election
| North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Doug Goehring Incumbent |
57% | 139,597 | |
| Democratic | Ryan Taylor | 42.9% | 105,094 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.2% | 377 | |
| Total Votes | 245,068 | |||
| Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State | ||||
Race background
The North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture also serves as a member on the state's three-member Industrial Commission. This commission, among many duties, regulates North Dakota's oil and gas industry.[4] The race for agriculture commissioner featured candidate disagreements over how to deal with the rush to extract oil and gas from the Bakken shale.
The incumbent, Republican Doug Goehring, expressed support for an accelerated rate of oil extraction, opposing legislation that might slow down the growth of drilling.[5] In a speech at the state Republican convention, he said that "the ties between agriculture and energy have never been more important that they are today." The North Dakota Farm Bureau endorsed his primary challenger, Judy Estenson.[6] Estenson lost the state GOP endorsement and dropped out of the race.[6][7]
The Democratic challenger, Ryan Taylor, expressed concern about the consequences of the oil rush. He said, "You can’t unleash all that oil and then wonder why the train tracks are full of oil tankers and you can’t get grain on from the elevators in North Dakota and get that product to market."[8] Taylor argued for greater weight on agricultural considerations.[8]
Campaign finance
Campaign finance disclosures filed by early October showed Goehring with $339,000 in contributions. Taylor raised $285,000 during the same time period.[9]
Issues background: Fracking
- See also: Fracking in North Dakota
Since oil was first discovered in 1951 in North Dakota, over 13,000 wells have been drilled. The graph to the right shows how oil production in the state increased from 45.14 million barrels in 2007 to 313.8 million barrels in 2013. A study commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute estimated that in 2011, 12 percent of state employment and 13.1 percent of labor income were connected to the oil and gas industry.
The industry's rapid growth has attracted workers from outside the state, leading to increased demand for housing and public services such as police and fire departments. At the same time, environmental groups and local stakeholders expressed concern about the potential ecological effects of the boom. While hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has been used in the United States for decades, some experts have questioned whether regulatory agencies have sufficient resources to consistently enforce environmental protections.[10][11][12][13]
2010
Goehring won election to a full term in the November 2, 2010 election, defeating Democratic candidate Merle Boucher.[14]
| North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Doug Goehring Incumbent |
68% | 157,867 | |
| Democratic | Merle Boucher | 31.9% | 74,143 | |
| Total Votes | 232,226 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Roger Johnson won re-election to the office of North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture. He defeated Doug Goehring (R) in the general election.
| North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Roger Johnson Incumbent |
55.8% | 119,812 | |
| Republican | Doug Goehring | 44.2% | 94,736 | |
| Total Votes | 214,548 | |||
| Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State. | ||||
2004
On November 2, 2004, Roger Johnson won re-election to the office of North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture. He defeated Doug Goehring (R) in the general election.
| North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture, 2004 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Roger Johnson Incumbent |
50.3% | 149,917 | |
| Republican | Doug Goehring | 49.7% | 148,039 | |
| Total Votes | 297,956 | |||
| Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State. | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Doug Goehring did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Stances on the issues
Agriculture commissioners are responsible for overseeing and regulating practices and policies that affect farmers, consumers of agricultural products, and the broader agricultural industry in their states. Their powers can vary, but they typically have the authority to enforce state laws and regulations pertaining to agriculture and investigate practices related to the agricultural sector that may violate state laws or regulations.[15][16]
This section outlines Goehring's stances on policy issues as they relate to agriculture.
Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
|---|
|
| • What is ESG? • Enacted ESG legislation • Arguments for and against ESG • Opposition to ESG • Federal ESG rules • ESG legislation tracker • Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's weekly ESG newsletter |
Goehring has argued against ESG, which refers to an investment or corporate governance approach that involves considering the extent to which corporations conform to certain standards related to environmental, social, and corporate governance issues (such as net carbon emission or corporate board diversity goals) and making business and investment decisions that promote those standards. Agricultural commissioners have the authority to use their investigative and enforcement powers to scrutinize the effects of financial practices on the agricultural sector, write letters to financial institutions requesting information on their policies and practices, and issue regulations related to fertilizer usage, agricultural fuel usage, and rural electrification.[15][16]
Letter opposing ESG practices at financial institutions
Goehring joined eleven agricultural commissioners from other states on January 29, 2024, in writing a public letter to the CEOs of six large banks, including J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, opposing their ESG commitments.[15][16]
The letter argued that the financial institutions’ commitments to implementing Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) policies could restrict credit access for farmers and coerce agricultural producers into changing their farming practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The officials said such changes would increase costs in the agricultural sector, reduce the availability of food, drive up consumer prices, and eliminate jobs in the industry.[15][16]
The letter requested additional information related to the banks’ ESG commitments, including details on how the banks intended to promote NZBA’s carbon emissions targets for the agricultural sector.[15][16]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Goehring has three children and four grandchildren. He attends Evangel Assembly of God in Bismarck.[1]
See also
2022 Elections
External links
|
Candidate North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture |
Officeholder North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 North Dakota Department of Agriculture, "Meet the commissioner," accessed February 24, 2012
- ↑ WatchDog.org, "ND ag commissioner admits to inappropriate comment," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedlist - ↑ North Dakota Industrial Commission, "About," April 10, 2014
- ↑ Ag Week, "ND ‘extraordinary places’ policy approved, but comment process will apply only to public land," April 10, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bismarck Tribune, "N.D. GOP endorses incumbent for ag post," April 10, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ Watchdog.org, "Future of ND oil boom could hinge on ag commission race," April 10, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Taylor for North Dakota, "Jamestown Sun: Taylor calls for balance with oil in bid," April 10, 2014
- ↑ NewsOK, "ND agriculture commissioner contest more about oil," October 12, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Energy Forum, "North Dakota Oil and Gas History," accessed July 25, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Oil and Gas Division, "North Dakota Annual Oil Production," accessed October 15, 2014
- ↑ PricewaterhouseCooper LLP, "Economic Impacts of the Oil and Natural Gas Industry on the US Economy 2011," July 2013
- ↑ Stanford Law School Student Journals, "Local Government Fracking Regulations: A Colorado Case Study," January 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "November 2010 General Election Results," accessed March 25, 2011
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Fox Business, “Dozen state GOP agriculture commissioners launch probe of US banks over ESG investing: 'It must be stopped,'” accessed February 13, 2024
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Georgia Department of Agriculture, “Impact of Net-Zero Banking Alliance on Agriculture & Food Security,” January 29, 2024
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture 2009-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| ||||||||||||||
 |
State of North Dakota Bismarck (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
