Dwight Kiefert recall, North Dakota House of Representatives (2021)
| North Dakota House of Representatives recall |
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| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in North Dakota North Dakota recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Dwight Kiefert, a member of the Republican Party, from his elected position representing District 24 in the North Dakota House of Representatives was approved for circulation by Secretary of State Al Jaeger (R) on July 19, 2021. Jaeger rescinded the petition on November 18, 2021, citing the newly redistricted maps. The redistricted maps required Kiefert to run for re-election in 2022. Jaeger said "an official may not be recalled if the special election would occur within one year of the next regularly scheduled election according to North Dakota Century Code."[1][2]
Kiefert was elected to the state House in 2012. He was re-elected in 2020 with 29.3% of the vote.
Recall supporters
The recall effort was led by District 24 Republican Treasurer Shane Anderson. According to the petition, Kiefert was being recalled for "failing to meet the standards of a Republican."[3]
Recall opponents
Kiefert told KX News that he believed the recall effort was the result of his vote to expel former state Rep. Luke Simons (R).[3] The North Dakota House of Representatives expelled Simons on March 4 by a vote of 69-25. The resolution to expel Simons stated that he had “exhibited a history of hostile, threatening, and inappropriate behavior, most frequently toward women”.[4]
In April 2021, District 24 Republicans passed a resolution to censure Kiefert over his vote to expel Simons.[5]
Opponents of the recall effort
- State Rep. Austen Schauer (R)[6]
- House Majority Leader Chet Pollert (R)[6]
- House Republican Caucus Leader Glenn Bosch[7]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in North Dakota
The amount of valid signatures required for recall election is 25 percent of the number of persons that voted in the last preceding election for the office of governor in the electoral district of the officer sought to be recalled.
First, a request for a recall petition must be filed with the secretary of state. Every recall petition must have a sponsoring committee of five individuals and a chairman. Then the secretary of state will print up signature forms to be distributed. The petition will then be able to be circulated among the voters of the electoral district of the official being recalled.
Recall supporters have one year to collect the necessary amount of signatures. After the appropriate number of signatures have been gathered, the petition is filed with the secretary of state. The secretary of state has 30 days to consider the petition valid. In order to do this, they randomly sample signatures for validity. If the petition is considered valid the secretary of state must put the recall on the election ballot after a 10-day waiting period in which the official up for recall may resign.[8]
Election history
2020
See also: North Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 24 (2 seats)
Incumbent Dwight Kiefert and Cole Christensen defeated Naomi T. Muscha and Bradley Edin in the general election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 24 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Dwight Kiefert (R) | 29.3 | 3,733 |
| ✔ |  | Cole Christensen (R) | 28.3 | 3,605 |
 | Naomi T. Muscha (D) | 22.6 | 2,872 | |
| Bradley Edin (D) | 19.7 | 2,509 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 10 | ||
| Total votes: 12,729 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 24 (2 seats)
Naomi T. Muscha and Bradley Edin advanced from the Democratic primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 24 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Naomi T. Muscha | 52.7 | 1,145 |
| ✔ | Bradley Edin | 46.7 | 1,014 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 14 | ||
| Total votes: 2,173 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 24 (2 seats)
Incumbent Dwight Kiefert and Cole Christensen advanced from the Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 24 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dwight Kiefert | 51.3 | 1,711 |
| ✔ | | Cole Christensen | 48.0 | 1,601 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 21 | ||
| Total votes: 3,333 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Daniel Johnston (R)
2016
Elections for the North Dakota House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 14, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 11, 2016.
Daniel Johnston and incumbent Dwight Kiefert defeated Sharon Buhr and incumbent Naomi T. Muscha in the North Dakota House of Representatives District 24 general election.[9][10]
| North Dakota House of Representatives, District 24 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Daniel Johnston |
26.59% | 3,184 | |
| Republican | Dwight Kiefert Incumbent |
26.69% | 3,196 | |
| Democratic | Sharon Buhr | 23.04% | 2,759 | |
| Democratic | Naomi T. Muscha Incumbent | 23.69% | 2,837 | |
| Total Votes | 11,976 | |||
| Source: North Dakota Secretary of State | ||||
Sharon Buhr and incumbent Naomi T. Muscha were unopposed in the North Dakota House of Representatives District 24 Democratic primary.[11][12]
| North Dakota House of Representatives, District 24 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Sharon Buhr | |
| Democratic | Naomi T. Muscha Incumbent | |
Daniel Johnston and incumbent Dwight Kiefert were unopposed in the North Dakota House of Representatives District 24 Republican primary.[11][12]
| North Dakota House of Representatives, District 24 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Daniel Johnston | |
| Republican | Dwight Kiefert Incumbent | |
2012
Kiefert ran in the 2012 election for North Dakota State House District 24. Kiefert and Myrene Peterson ran unopposed in the Republican primary on June 12. Kiefert and Naomi T. Muscha (D) defeated Sharon Buhr (D) and Myrene Peterson (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[13][14]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Naomi Muscha |
26.2% | 3,266 | |
| Republican | Dwight Kiefert |
26.2% | 3,262 | |
| Democratic | Sharon E. Buhr | 25.7% | 3,212 | |
| Republican | Myrene Peterson | 21.9% | 2,734 | |
| Total Votes | 12,474 | |||
Historical state legislative recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 145 recall efforts against 138 state lawmakers from 1913 to 2020. During that time, 39 recalls made the ballot and 22 state legislators were successfully recalled.[15]
Michigan led the way with 37 state legislative recall efforts from 1913 to 2020. Of those 37 recall efforts, three were successful. Wisconsin followed with 30 state legislative recall efforts. Six of those recalls were successful.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Bismarck Tribune, "Redistricting blocks recall effort against North Dakota lawmaker, but Kiefert still has to run," November 18, 2021
- ↑ NewsDakota.com, "Recall Petition to Recall Dwight Kiefert Rescinded," November 18, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 KX News, "Petition approved for circulation to recall North Dakota Rep. Dwight Kiefert," July 19, 2021
- ↑ AP News, "North Dakota House expels lawmaker accused of misconduct," March 5, 2021
- ↑ NewsDakota.com, "DISTRICT 24 REPUBLICANS VOTE TO CENSURE REP. KIEFERT," April 18, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 NewsDakota.com, "ND GOP SLAMS PETITION RECALL OF REP. DWIGHT KIEFERT," July 20, 2021
- ↑ The Bismarck Tribune, "North Dakota House GOP leaders condemn lawmaker recall campaign," July 21, 2021
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "Recalling an Elected Official of the State or a Political Subdivision," accessed June 25, 2021
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "2016 General Election Contest/Candidate List," accessed August 21, 2016
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "Official Results General Election - November 8, 2016," accessed November 28, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 North Dakota Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Contest/Candidate List," accessed April 13, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 North Dakota Secretary of State, "Official Results Primary Election - June 14, 2016," accessed August 2, 2016
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Election results," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "2012 General Election results," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of State Officials," accessed August 13, 2021
