North Dakota Insurance Commissioner election, 2016
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June 14, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
Jon Godfread (R) |
Adam Hamm (R) |
Governor and Lt. Governor • Treasurer Down Ballot Auditor • Insurance Commissioner Public Service Commission Superintendent of Schools |
April 11, 2016 |
March 31-April 2, 2016  April 1-3, 2016  |
June 14, 2016 |
September 6, 2016 |
October 18, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
TBD |
December 15, 2016 |
North Dakota held an election for insurance commissioner on November 8, 2016. Jon Godfread (R) won the open seat, keeping the office in Republican hands.
Overview
The insurance commissioner is the head of the North Dakota Insurance Department, responsible for regulating the insurance industry within the state.
North Dakota has been under Republican trifecta control since 1995. The office of insurance commissioner in North Dakota has largely been held by Republicans since 1895, with Democrats experiencing brief periods of control from 1977 to 1980, and 1985 to 2000. Incumbent Commissioner Adam Hamm, who was appointed to the position, first won election to a full term by about two thousand votes. Four years later, he defeated Democratic challenger Tom Potter by more than 25 percentage points. The open election in 2016 was also expected to be close.
Three candidates competed for the office: educator Ruth Buffalo (D), vice president of governmental affairs at the Greater North Dakota Chamber Jon Godfread (R), and drywall contractor Nick Bata (Lib.). Godfread won the general election on November 8, 2016.
Candidates
Ruth Buffalo (D/Democratic-Nonpartisan League)
Educator
Jon Godfread (R)
Vice president of governmental affairs, Greater North Dakota Chamber
Nick Bata (Lib.)
Employee at a drywall contracting company
Results
General election
Jon Godfread defeated Ruth Buffalo and Nick Bata in the North Dakota insurance commissioner election.
| North Dakota Insurance Commissioner, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Jon Godfread |
64.41% | 206,067 | |
| Democratic/Democrat-Nonpartisan League | Ruth Buffalo | 26.79% | 85,696 | |
| Libertarian | Nick Bata | 8.64% | 27,642 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.17% | 534 | ||
| Total Votes | 319,939 | |||
| Source: North Dakota Secretary of State | ||||
Primary elections
Ruth Buffalo ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for insurance commissioner.
| Democratic primary for insurance commissioner, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Ruth Buffalo (unopposed) |
99.86% | 16,647 |
| Write-in votes | 0.14% | 24 |
| Total Votes (432 of 432 precincts reporting) | 16,671 | |
| Source: North Dakota Secretary of State | ||
Jon Godfread ran unopposed in the Republican primary for insurance commissioner.
| Republican primary for insurance commissioner, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jon Godfread (unopposed) |
99.74% | 91,402 |
| Write-in votes | 0.26% | 235 |
| Total Votes (432 of 432 precincts reporting) | 91,637 | |
| Source: North Dakota Secretary of State | ||
Nick Bata ran unopposed in the Libertarian primary for insurance commissioner.
| Libertarian primary for insurance commissioner, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Nick Bata (unopposed) |
99.44% | 1,064 |
| Write-in votes | 0.56% | 6 |
| Total Votes (432 of 432 precincts reporting) | 1,070 | |
| Source: North Dakota Secretary of State | ||
Context of the 2016 election
Primary elections
A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. North Dakota utilizes an open primary system, in which voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1][2][3] In North Dakota, major party candidates are usually nominated or endorsed by the party at the state conventions, which take place prior to the primary elections. Often, candidates who do not receive the endorsements do not file to run in the primary, however that is not mandatory and major party candidates can and do run in the primary regardless of receiving the official party nod.
Primary contests for nonpartisan elections take the form of a top-two primary, with the top-two vote getters advancing to the general election.
North Dakota's primary elections took place on June 14, 2016.
Incumbent Adam Hamm (R)
Hamm was appointed to the office of the insurance commissioner in October 2007 by Governor John Hoeven (R) to fill a vacancy left by Commissioner Jim Poolman, who resigned prior to the end of his term in 2008. Hamm was re-elected to a full term in 2008, defeating Democrat Jasper Schneider by just 0.5 percent. He easily won re-election again in 2012, this time by a much larger margin of about 25 percent. Hamm did not run for re-election in 2016, leaving the race open.
Party control in North Dakota
North Dakota has been under Republican trifecta control since 1995, and Republicans have seen comfortable margins of victory in recent statewide elections. The 2012 Republican Dalrymple/Wrigley ticket for governor won by a nearly 30-point margin.[4] In 2014, Attorney General Stenehjem won a fifth term in office with over 74 percent of the vote.[5]
However, recent elections have also shown that popular Democrats can and do win statewide elections in North Dakota. Most recently, Heidi Heitkamp (D) narrowly defeated her Republican opponent in the United States Senate race in 2012, even as Mitt Romney carried the state by a nearly 20-point margin and Dalrymple was elected governor by an even larger margin.[6] Before Heitkamp, North Dakotans were represented in the United States Senate by Democrat Kent Conrad, who won election five times. During his 1992 re-election bid, he defeated Jack Dalrymple by a 30-point margin.[7][8]
The office of insurance commissioner in North Dakota has largely been held by Republicans since 1895, with Democrats experiencing brief periods of control from 1977 to 1980, and 1985 to 2000.[9] Elections for this office have recently strongly favored elected incumbents. Commissioner Hamm, who was appointed to the position, first won election to a full term by about two thousand votes. Four years later, he defeated Democratic challenger Tom Potter by more than 25 percentage points. Likewise, Hamm's predecessor, Jim Poolman (R), first won election to the office by six percent in 2000, then was re-elected by a nearly 30 percent margin in 2004. The open race in 2016 was expected to be competitive.
Campaigns
Campaign media
Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!
Democrats
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Republicans
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Libertarians
| Nick Bata (Lib.) | 
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About the office
- See also: North Dakota Insurance Commissioner
The North Dakota Insurance Commissioner is an elected state executive position in the North Dakota state government. The commissioner is the head of the state Insurance Department, which was established in 1889.[10]
The insurance commissioner is the head of the North Dakota Insurance Department, responsible for regulating the insurance industry within the state. The department enforces relevant laws and regulations, and working to ensure a competitive marketplaces and to protect consumers from fraud. Chapter 26.1 of the North Dakota Century Code outlines the specific duties of the office:
- enforce insurance-related state laws and report any infractions to the office of the attorney general
- register all insurance companies and agents operating within the state
- communicate with insurance commissioners from other states when appropriate
- manage, control, and supervise the state bonding fund
- manage, control, and supervise the state fire and tornado fund and the insurance of public buildings in that fund
- submit a biennial report to the governor and secretary of state[11]
Incumbent
The incumbent was Adam Hamm (R). Originally appointed to the position in October 2007, Hamm was elected to a full four-year term in 2008 and re-elected in 2012. His term expired in 2016.[12]
Qualifications Article V, Section 4 of the North Dakota Constitution establishes the qualifications of office as such:
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To be eligible to hold an elective office established by this article, a person must be a qualified elector of this state, must be at least twenty-five years of age on the day of the election, and must have been a resident of this state for the five years preceding election to office.[13] |
- a qualified elector of the South Dakota
- at least 25 years old
- a resident of South Dakota for at least five years
Authority
The insurance commissioner's authority and duties and are established by Article V of the North Dakota Constitution.
Article V, Section 2:
| The qualified electors of the state at the times and places of choosing members of the legislative assembly shall choose a governor, lieutenant governor, agriculture commissioner, attorney general, auditor, insurance commissioner, three public service commissioners, secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction, tax commissioner, and treasurer...[13] |
Term of Office
The four-year term length was established after an initiated constitutional amendment on the 1964 ballot was approved. Prior to this, the term length was two years.[14]
Elections
North Dakota elects insurance commissioners to four-year terms during gubernatorial election years. For North Dakota, 2016, 2020 and 2024 are all insurance commissioner election years.[13]
Full history
To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of North Dakota Commissioner of Insurance, click [show] to expand the section. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2012 Incumbent Adam Hamm (R) won re-election in 2012. He defeated Tom Potter (D) in the November 6, 2012 general election.
On November 4, 2008, Adam Hamm won re-election to the office of North Dakota Commissioner of Insurance. He defeated Jasper Schneider (D-NPL) in the general election.
2004 On November 2, 2004, Jim Poolman won re-election to the office of North Dakota Commissioner of Insurance. He defeated Terry Barnes (D-NPL) in the general election.
2000 On November 7, 2000, Jim Poolman won election to the office of North Dakota Commissioner of Insurance. He defeated Gorman King, Jr. (D-NPL) in the general election.
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms North Dakota. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
State profile
| Demographic data for North Dakota | ||
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 756,835 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 69,001 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 88.7% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 1.6% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 5.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 2.9% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 91.7% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.7% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $57,181 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 12.2% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in North Dakota. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
North Dakota voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in North Dakota, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.[15]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. North Dakota had three Retained Pivot Counties, 1.66 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More North Dakota coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in North Dakota
- United States congressional delegations from North Dakota
- Public policy in North Dakota
- Endorsers in North Dakota
- North Dakota fact checks
- More...
See also
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North Dakota government: |
Previous elections: |
Ballotpedia exclusives: |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed January 6, 2014
- ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and 'Top Two,'" accessed January 6, 2014
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "NORTH DAKOTA OFFICIAL ABSTRACT OF VOTES CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION HELD ON NOVEMBER 6, 2012," accessed Aug. 24, 2015
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "Official Results, General Election - November 4, 2014
- ↑ The New York Times, "Election 2012: North Dakota," accessed August 24, 2015
- ↑ U.S. News, "10 things you didn't know about Kent Conrad," accessed Aug. 24, 2015
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "OFFICIAL ABSTRACT OF VOTES CAST AT THE SPECIAL ELECTION HELD DECEMBER 4,1992," accessed Aug. 24, 2015
- ↑ Digital Horizons, "North Dakota blue book, 2015-2017," accessed June 9, 2016
- ↑ North Dakota Insurance Department, "About Us," accessed April 23, 2011
- ↑ North Dakota Century Code, "Chapter 26.1-01: Insurance commissioner," accessed July 13, 2011
- ↑ North Dakota Insurance Department, "Meet Commissioner Hamm," accessed Oct. 2, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 North Dakota Legislative Branch, "Constitution," accessed Oct. 2, 2015
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State Archived Election Results, "Primary Election Results - 1964," accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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