North Dakota State Senate elections

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State Legislatures State legislative elections, 2025 Poll opening and closing times

This page displays election information for the North Dakota State Senate.

Elections

North Dakota state senators serve staggered, four-year terms and half of the Senate is up for election every two years. North Dakota holds elections for its legislature in even years.

2026

See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2026

Elections for the North Dakota State Senate will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026.

2024

See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2024

Elections for the North Dakota State Senate took place in 2024. The general election was on November 5, 2024. The primary was June 11, 2024. The filing deadline was April 8, 2024.

Democrats gained one seat in the Nevada State Senate in the 2024 elections, but Republicans maintained the majority.

North Dakota State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2024	After November 6, 2024
	Democratic Party	4	5
	Republican Party	43	42
Total		47	47

2022

See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2022

Elections for the North Dakota State Senate took place in 2022. The general election was on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for June 14, 2022. The filing deadline was April 11, 2022.

The Republican Party expanded its majority by three seats in the 2022 general election, from 40-7 to 43-4.

North Dakota State Senate
Party		As of November 8, 2022	After November 9, 2022
	Democratic Party	7	4
	Republican Party	40	43
Total		47	47

2020

See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2020

Elections for the office of North Dakota State Senate took place in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for June 9, 2020. The filing deadline was April 6, 2020.

In the 2020 elections, Republicans increased their majority in the North Dakota State Senate from 37-10 to 40-7.

North Dakota State Senate
Party		As of November 3, 2020	After November 4, 2020
	Democratic Party	10	7
	Republican Party	37	40
Total		47	47

2018

See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2018

Elections for the North Dakota State Senate took place in 2018. An open primary election took place on June 12, 2018. The general election was held on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was April 9, 2018.

In the 2018 elections, Republicans lost one seat but maintained their majority in the North Dakota State Senate.

North Dakota State Senate
Party		As of November 6, 2018	After November 7, 2018
	Democratic Party	9	10
	Republican Party	38	37
Total		47	47

2016

See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the North Dakota State Senate 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. A total of 23 seats out of the 47 seats in the North Dakota State Senate were up for election in 2016.

Heading into the election, Republicans held a 32-15 majority. Republicans gained six seats in the election, giving them a 38-9 majority.

North Dakota State Senate
Party		As of November 7, 2016	After November 8, 2016
	Democratic Party	15	9
	Republican Party	32	38
Total		47	47

Click [show] to see election information dating back to 2000

2014 See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2014 Elections for the North Dakota State Senate 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. Heading into the election, Republicans held a 33-14 majority. Republicans lost one seat in the election, giving them a 32-15 majority. North Dakota State Senate Party As of November 3, 2014 After November 4, 2014      Democratic Party 14 15      Republican Party 33 32 Total 47 47 2012 See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2012 Elections for the office of North Dakota State Senate took place in 2012. The primary election was held on June 12, 2012, and the general election was held on November 6, 2012. The candidate filing deadline was April 13, 2012. A total of 23 seats were up for election. Heading into the election, Republicans held a 35-12 majority. Republicans lost one seat in the election, giving them a 33-13 majority with one vacancy. North Dakota State Senate Party As of November 5, 2012 After the 2012 Election      Democratic Party 12 13      Republican Party 35 33      Vacancy 1 Total 47 47 During the 2012 election, the total value of contributions to the 50 Senate candidates was $355,067. The top 10 contributors were: 2012 Donors, North Dakota State Senate Donor Amount North Dakota Senate Democratic-NPL Caucus $25,600 North Dakota Senate Republican Caucus $18,605 Lignite Energy Council $16,000 North Dakota Association of Telecommunications Cooperatives $11,750 Boilermakers Local 647 $11,500 North Dakota Association of Realtors $11,000 North Dakota Petroleum Council $10,050 North Dakota Education Association $9,959 North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives $8,600 Friends of Kent Conrad $8,500 The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6 general election. 2012 Margin of Victory, North Dakota State Senate District Winner Margin of Victory Total Votes Top Opponent District 12 John Grabinger 1.9% 5,800 Bernie Satrom District 46 George B. Sinner 4.2% 7,569 Jim Roers District 44 Tim Flakoll 4.8% 7,375 Rick Olek District 4 John Warner 4.9% 6,368 Daryl J. Lies District 20 Philip Murphy 7.7% 6,155 Melvin Erdmann District 6 David O'Connell 8.8% 7,463 Pamela Smith District 24 Larry Robinson 11.8% 6,873 Keith E. Hovland District 42 Mac Schneider 14.9% 4,988 Ross Lien District 18 Constance Triplett 19.9% 5,444 David Waterman District 19 Tom Campbell 20.2% 5,813 Julius M. Wangler 2010 See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2010 Elections for the office of North Dakota State Senate took place in 2010. The primary election was held on June 8, 2010, and the general election was held on November 2, 2010. The candidate filing deadline was March 8, 2010. A total of 24 seats were up for election. Heading into the election, Republicans held a 26-21 majority. Republicans gained nine seats in the election, giving them a 35-12 majority. North Dakota State Senate Party As of November 1, 2010 After the 2010 Election      Democratic Party 21 12      Republican Party 26 35 Total 47 47 During the 2010 election, the total value of contributions to the 43 Senate candidates was $271,222. The top 10 contributors were: 2010 Donors, North Dakota State Senate Donor Amount North Dakota Senate Democratic-NPL Caucus $26,750 North Dakota Association of Realtors $18,550 North Dakota Republican Senate Caucus $15,602 North Dakota Association of Telecommunications Cooperatives $13,000 Lignite Energy Council $12,500 DAK PAC $12,000 Boilermakers Local 647 $11,200 North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives $11,050 North Dakota Education Association $10,750 Marathon Oil $9,600 2008 See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2008 Elections for the office of North Dakota State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 10, 2008, and a general election on November 4, 2008. A total of 23 seats were up for election. During the 2008 election, the total contributions to Senate candidates amounted to $445,898. The top 10 contributors were: 2008 Donors, North Dakota State Senate Donor Amount North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party $66,850 North Dakota Republican Party $61,747 DAK PAC $29,000 Boilermakers Local 647 $21,100 North Dakota Lignite Council $13,500 North Dakota Association of Telecommunications Cooperatives $13,000 North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives $10,200 Monsanto $9,900 North Dakota Petroleum Council $9,900 North Dakota Senate Republican Caucus $9,000 2006 See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2006 Elections for the office of North Dakota State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 13, 2006, and a general election on November 7, 2006. A total of 24 seats were up for election. During the 2006 election, the total value of contributions to the 50 Senate candidates was $237,194. The top 10 contributors were: 2006 Donors, North Dakota State Senate Donor Amount North Dakota Republican Senate Caucus $31,471 Dak Pac $28,000 North Dakota Senate Democratic-NPL Caucus $19,000 North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party $12,000 North Dakota Association of Telecommunications Cooperatives $10,450 North Dakota Lignite Council $10,200 North Dakota Association of Realtors $8,676 North Dakota Education Association $8,000 North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives $5,700 North Dakota Chiropractic Association $5,050 2004 See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2004 Elections for the office of North Dakota State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 8, 2004, and a general election on November 2, 2004. A total of 23 seats were up for election. During the 2004 election, the total value of contributions to the 43 Senate candidates was $163,091. The top 10 contributors were: 2004 Donors, North Dakota State Senate Donor Amount North Dakota Republican Party $19,136 North Dakota Senate Democratic-NPL Caucus $11,250 Senate Republican Caucus of North Dakota $11,200 Republican State Leadership Cmte $10,000 North Dakota Lignite Council $9,000 North Dakota Public Employees Association $7,175 North Dakota Association of Telephone Cooperatives $7,150 North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives $5,800 Dak Pac $5,500 North Dakota Chiropractic Association $5,100 2002 See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2002 Elections for the office of North Dakota State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 11, 2002, and a general election on November 5, 2002. A total of 26 seats were up for election. During the 2002 election, the total value of contributions to the 51 Senate candidates was $242,201. The top 10 contributors were: 2002 Donors, North Dakota State Senate Donor Amount Dak Pac $46,000 North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party $22,000 Senate Republican Caucus of North Dakota $17,500 North Dakota Senate Democratic-NPL Caucus $13,800 North Dakota Education Association $11,075 North Dakota Public Employees Association $10,750 North Dakota Lignite Council $9,100 North Dakota Democratic-NPL District 47 $6,200 International Brotherhood of Teamsters $5,000 North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives $4,100 2000 See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2000 Elections for the office of North Dakota State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 13, 2000, and a general election on November 7, 2000. A total of 25 seats were up for election. During the 2000 election, the total value of contributions to the 53 Senate candidates was $133,970. The top 10 contributors were: 2000 Donors, North Dakota State Senate Donor Amount Oshaughnessy, Roger $25,000 Nelson, Gary $25,000 North Dakota Republican Senate Caucus $12,125 North Dakota Lignite Council $6,200 Nelson, Joseph $5,000 Korsmo, John $5,000 North Dakota Association of Realtors $3,200 Life Underwriters of North Dakota $2,250 North Dakota Senate Democratic-NPL Caucus $2,245 National Rifle Association $1,900

Historical party control

Republicans won control of the North Dakota State Senate in 1994. In 2024, they won a 42-5 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the North Dakota Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2024. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

North Dakota State Senate election results: 1992-2024

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22	'24
Democrats	25	20	19	18	18	16	15	21	21	12	13	15	9	10	7	4	5
Republicans	24	29	30	31	31	31	32	26	26	35	33	32	38	37	40	43	42

Trifecta history

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. Between 1992 and 2023, North Dakota was under the following types of trifecta control:

• Democratic trifecta: None
• Republican trifecta: 1995-2023
• Divided government: 1992-1994

North Dakota Party Control: 1992-2024
No Democratic trifectas  •  Thirty-one years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
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Senate	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Footnotes

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