North Dakota House of Representatives District 27 candidate surveys, 2022

Elections in North Dakota, 2022

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This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 27 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

• Click here to see candidates and election results.
• Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 27 (2 seats)

Incumbent Greg Stemen and Josh Christy defeated incumbent Ruth Buffalo and Thomas Casler in the general election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 27 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Stemen (R)	29.0	2,703
✔		Josh Christy (R)	28.1	2,614
		Ruth Buffalo (D)	24.1	2,245
		Thomas Casler (D)	18.7	1,740
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	9

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,311
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Thomas Casler (D)

Universal school lunch

Lower prescription drug prices

Innovation and Infrastructure

Greg Stemen (R)

Strongly in favor of local control and a less intrusive government.

I am pro-business and support strong economic development projects.

I believe in the sanctity of life and that it should be protected, except for extreme circumstances.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Thomas Casler (D)

I am deeply passionate about quality education. Being able to get and retain great teachers is very important to the community and state. I believe that North Dakota can and should be able to continue the free school lunch program if the federal government will not.

Greg Stemen (R)

I am a supporter of respectful discourse. Our tolerance level for differing opinions seems to be almost gone, on both sides. Our citizens deserve to have all opinions heard and they deserve to have legislators who can work together and communicate in a civilized manner for the betterment of our state.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Thomas Casler (D)

There are many throughout history that I can point to for inspiration, but the first was Sitting Bull, the great Hunkpapa leader. He saw how the US army was slowly destroying their lands and the Lakota way of life. He fought for his people and took great care in teaching his people on how to guide themselves.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Thomas Casler (D)

The principles that are most important for an elected official is to realize that you are there for the people of your district. You need to made the decisions that they sent you there to do.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Thomas Casler (D)

The qualities that best me the best fit for office is communication and cooperation. I am not worried about who gets credit, I just want to get the work done.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Thomas Casler (D)

The core responsibilities for me if I get elected to this position is to deliver for my district. I need to work and achieve the campaign promises that the voters of the district sent me to Bismarck to do.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Thomas Casler (D)

I want to leave a legacy that my children can be proud of. I want to work to make the North Dakota school systems the envy of the United States. I want to made sure that the next generation isn't paying for the mistakes of now.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Thomas Casler (D)

The first historical event that I can remember was Y2K. I was about 11 years old at the time and I can remember that everyone on the news kept talking about it.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Thomas Casler (D)

My first job was working for the North Dakota State Historical Society as a summer tour guide. I was fortunate enough to work there until I moved to attend college.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Thomas Casler (D)

One of the biggest struggles of my life was my dad passing away in November 2020. Losing a parent is never easy and it is the little things that are missed. I can't talk to him to seek advice or just to chat. He was very active in the ND Dem-NPL and he would have been so excited to see me as a candidate. I also want to win this race to honor him and the time spent fighting for North Dakota Dems.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Thomas Casler (D)

The governor and the legislature should work together to create policy. Ideally, both parts of government are working to better the people economy of North Dakota.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Thomas Casler (D)

The greatest challenge over the next decade is how we use the legacy fund. It was created as a "rainy day fund" to make sure that North Dakota is always able to fulfill its financial obligations. We need to make that money work for us in North Dakota and keep that money instate for investments, not to out of state interests.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Thomas Casler (D)

State legislators do not need to have experience to be effective. Many great legislators in North Dakota's history have been farmers or teachers. Legislators need to be passionate about wanting to better their city and state and have the will to work to achieve their goals.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Thomas Casler (D)

Legislators would be my colleagues, if I am elected, so it would be the same as building relationships with my current profession. If you are going to make policy and get the job done, there needs to be a foundation of respect.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Thomas Casler (D)

The best process for redistricting is a non-partisan third party that can come in and make sure that the districts are fairly drawn that doesn't give an advantage to either party.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Thomas Casler (D)

Education

Industry, business, and labor

Human Services

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Thomas Casler (D)

Without compromise, there is no policy. Having a voice on both sides creates a way for both parties to have a say in how laws are made. Too much of one voice, can be a bad thing, because there is no-one to bounce ideas off of and creates laws that don't work for the people of North Dakota.

See also

More about these elections:

• North Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2022

Select a district below to read responses from candidates in those races:

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