Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
North Dakota House of Representatives District 47
North Dakota House of Representatives District 47 is represented by Lawrence Klemin (R) and Mike Motschenbacher (R).
As of the 2020 Census, North Dakota state representatives represented an average of 8,295 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 7,190 residents.
About the office
Members of the North Dakota House of Representatives serve four-year terms with term limits. Generally, members from even-numbered districts are elected in U.S. presidential election years (2012, 2008, 2004, etc.) and members from odd-numbered districts are elected in general election years offset by two years from U.S. presidential elections (2010, 2006, 2002, etc.). North Dakota legislators assume office December 1st.[1]
Qualifications
Article 4, Section 5 of the North Dakota Constitution states:[2]
| “ | Each individual elected or appointed to the legislative assembly must be, on the day of the election or appointment, a qualified elector in the district from which the member was selected and must have been a resident of the state for one year immediately prior to that election. An individual may not serve in the legislative assembly unless the individual lives in the district from which selected.[3] | ” |
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[4] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $592/month | $213/day |
Term limits
- See also: State legislatures with term limits
The North Dakota Legislative Assembly is one of 16 state legislatures with term limits. It has been a term-limited state legislature since North Dakota voters approved Constitutional Measure 1 in 2022, as an initiated constitutional amendment. The first year that the term limits enacted in 2022 will impact the ability of incumbents to run for office is 2030. Under North Dakota's term limits, state representatives can serve no more than two four-year terms.
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the North Dakota State Legislature, the vacancy is filled by the district committee of the political party that holds the seat. A replacement must be named within 21 days of the vacancy. The appointed person shall serve until the next general election which is scheduled for at least 94 days after the vacancy occurs. Qualified electors in a district where a vacancy exists can also petition for a special election to be called by the governor to fill the remaining term.[5]
See sources: North Dakota Cent. Code §44-02-03.1
District map
Redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in North Dakota
Because North Dakota has only one congressional district, congressional redistricting is not necessary. The state legislature draws state legislative district boundaries. State legislative district lines are subject to veto by the governor.[6]
The North Dakota Constitution requires that state legislative districts be "compact and contiguous."[6][7]
2020-2024
On May 14, 2025, a federal appeals court overturned a lower court ruling that struck down the state's 2021 legislative maps. On January 8, 2024, the U.S. District Court of North Dakota had ordered the state to adopt a remedial legislative map proposed by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Tribe. In the order, Judge Peter Welte said that the new map "requires changes to only three districts ... and is the least intrusive option that complies with the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution."[8][9]
The U.S. District Court of North Dakota struck down the state's legislative map on November 17, 2023, saying in its ruling in the case Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. the Secretary of State of North Dakota, "The Secretary is permanently enjoined from administering, enforcing, preparing for, or in any way permitting the nomination or election of members of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly from districts 9 and 15 and subdistrict 9A and 9B. The Secretary and Legislative Assembly shall have until December 22, 2023, to adopt a plan to remedy the violation of Section 2."[10] North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) signed legislation enacting the state's legislative map on November 11, 2021.
Reactions to 2024 state legislative maps
On January 9, 2024, the Secretary of State’s Office filed an appeal with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of the U.S. District Court of North Dakota's order in the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. the Secretary of State of North Dakota case.[11]
The Secretary of State’s Office also released a statement saying, “Any action taken by the appeals court would not impact the maps used for the 2024 election cycle. ... Secretary of State Michael Howe will be moving forward for the 2024 election with Judge Welte’s court-imposed map.”[11]
Below are the maps in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle. The map on the right was in effect for North Dakota’s 2024 state legislative elections.
North Dakota House of Representatives District 47
before 2020 redistricting cycle
Click a district to compare boundaries.
North Dakota House of Representatives District 47
after 2020 redistricting cycle
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2022
General election
General election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 47 (2 seats)
Incumbent Lawrence Klemin and Mike Motschenbacher won election in the general election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 47 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Lawrence Klemin (R) | 49.5 | 4,775 |
| ✔ |  | Mike Motschenbacher (R) | 49.1 | 4,732 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.4 | 131 | ||
| Total votes: 9,638 | |||
 = 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 House of Representatives District 47 (2 seats)
Incumbent Lawrence Klemin and Mike Motschenbacher defeated Kevin Strege and Dean Summers in the Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 47 on June 14, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lawrence Klemin | 35.8 | 1,508 |
| ✔ | | Mike Motschenbacher | 35.0 | 1,473 |
| Kevin Strege | 20.8 | 873 | ||
| Dean Summers | 8.2 | 347 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 6 | ||
| Total votes: 4,207 | |||
| = 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 House of Representatives District 47 (2 seats)
Incumbent George Keiser and incumbent Lawrence Klemin defeated Sabina McGarrahan Gasper in the general election for North Dakota House of Representatives District 47 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | George Keiser (R) | 39.6 | 5,545 |
| ✔ | | Lawrence Klemin (R) | 38.8 | 5,432 |
| Sabina McGarrahan Gasper (D) | 21.3 | 2,980 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 50 | ||
| Total votes: 14,007 | |||
| = 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 House of Representatives District 47 (2 seats)
Sabina McGarrahan Gasper advanced from the Democratic primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 47 on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sabina McGarrahan Gasper | 100.0 | 789 | |
| Total votes: 789 | |||
| = 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 House of Representatives District 47 (2 seats)
Incumbent Lawrence Klemin and incumbent George Keiser defeated Duane Sand in the Republican primary for North Dakota House of Representatives District 47 on June 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lawrence Klemin | 39.0 | 1,664 |
| ✔ | | George Keiser | 37.4 | 1,594 |
| Duane Sand | 23.6 | 1,007 | ||
| Total votes: 4,265 | |||
| = 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
Elections for the North Dakota House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 10, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 7, 2014. Incumbent Lawrence Klemin and incumbent George Keiser were unopposed in the Republican primary and were unchallenged in the general election.[12][13][14]
2010
Elections for the office of North Dakota House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on June 8, 2010, and a general election on November 2, 2010. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 8, 2010. Incumbents Lawrence Klemin (R) and George Keiser (R) defeated Robert Lengenfelder (I) in the general election. All candidates were unopposed in the June 8 primary elections.[15][16]
| North Dakota House of Representatives, District 47, General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  George Keiser Incumbent |
45.3% | 6,294 | |
| Republican | Lawrence Klemin Incumbent |
40.5% | 5,634 | |
| Independent | Robert Lengenfelder | 14.2% | 1,978 | |
| Total Votes | 13,906 | |||
Campaign contributions
From 2002 to 2022, candidates for North Dakota House of Representatives District 47 raised a total of $176,266. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $8,813 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, North Dakota House of Representatives District 47 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2022 | $28,880 | 4 | $7,220 |
| 2018 | $117,610 | 4 | $29,403 |
| 2014 | $9,550 | 2 | $4,775 |
| 2010 | $10,175 | 3 | $3,392 |
| 2006 | $10,050 | 4 | $2,513 |
| 2002 | $0 | 3 | $0 |
| Total | $176,266 | 20 | $8,813 |
See also
- North Dakota Legislative Assembly
- North Dakota State Senate
- North Dakota House of Representatives
- North Dakota state legislative districts
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ North Dakota Constitution, "Article IV, Section 7," accessed February 12, 2021
- ↑ North Dakota Legislative Branch, "North Dakota Constitution, Article IV," accessed May 23, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ North Dakota Legislative Branch, "North Dakota Century Code §44-02-03.1," accessed February 6, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 All About Redistricting, 'North Dakota," accessed April 22, 2015
- ↑ North Dakota Constitution, "Article IV, Section 2," accessed April 22, 2015
- ↑ United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, "Case No. 3:22-cv-22 Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, et al., vs. Michael Howe," accessed January 8, 2024
- ↑ Twitter, "RedistrictNet," January 10, 2024
- ↑ U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, "Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians vs. Michael Howe, in his Official Capacity as Secretary of State of North Dakota," November 17, 2022
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Bismarck Tribune, "North Dakota to follow judge’s redistricting order for 2024 election, despite appeal," January 10, 2024
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "2014 Primary Election Contest/Candidate List," accessed April 9, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "Official Results Primary Election - June 10, 2014," accessed July 8, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "Official General Election Results," accessed November 17, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "2010 Primary results," accessed December 5, 2013
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "2010 General election results," accessed December 5, 2013
