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North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2024
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← 2020
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| North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction |
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 |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: April 8, 2024 |
| Primary: June 11, 2024 General: November 5, 2024 Pre-election incumbent(s): Kirsten Baesler |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: Open between 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.; close between 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Voting in North Dakota |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2024 Impact of term limits in 2024 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024 |
| North Dakota executive elections |
| Governor Lieutenant Governor |
Incumbent Kirsten Baesler defeated Jason Heitkamp in the general election for North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 5, 2024. This election was nonpartisan, but both candidates were Republicans.[1]
The Dickinson Press' James B. Miller Jr. wrote the superintendency was "a pivotal role responsible for overseeing North Dakota's public education system" and was responsible for "setting educational standards, distributing funds, ensuring compliance with educational laws and advocating for educational improvements within the state legislature."[2]
Baesler was first elected in 2012. She said she ran for re-election to "continue working for our students and families, supporting our schoolteachers, and ensuring our taxpayers’ substantial investment in education is spent wisely."[3] She campaigned on her record in office and said she had "a proven track record of fighting to ensure that every family can choose the education opportunities their child needs."[4] Baesler also campaigned on saving the state money and said she cut costs by "reducing the number of employees at the Department of Public Instruction, eliminating the agency’s need to use leased space...while increasing the quality and efficiency of service to the public."[3]
Heitkamp was a former Republican state senator.[5] He said he wanted "to review the teacher retirement plan, bring transparency and work with budgets, review teacher pay, decrease administration costs and reevaluate interstate education programs."[4] He also campaigned to change the curriculum of state schools and said under his tenure, the curriculum would "involve...reading, writing, arithmetic, and civics."[6] Heitkamp also advocated for making the state pay for public schools instead of local governments, ending their reliance on a property tax. North Dakota Monitor's Mary Steurer wrote that Heitkamp "doesn’t have the authority to change the state’s tax structure. But he’s hopeful the office will give him the sway needed to get it done."[7]
Education Week's Libby Stanford wrote the race presents a "choice for voters—a person with experience teaching in and leading K-12 schools or an outsider with a potentially new take on education policy."[8] Baesler said that since taking office, she had seen a "shift from our voters...being really deeply focused on the technical expertise of who this leader should be...there seems to be less desire of having a superintendent candidate who is experienced."[8] She said she would continue to campaign by "talk[ing] about my track record."[9] Heitkamp, who did not have education experience, said the job was "like the sheriff...You don’t need a peace officer’s license to be sheriff—that’s a management job. This is a management job, also."[8] In a Facebook post, Heitkamp said "the people are tired of failure...I have met the people, I have heard the people and I am up to the challenge."[10]
North Dakota was one of 12 states that elected a state superintendent and was one of four states where the office was up for election in 2024. To read more about which states had superintendent elections in 2024, click here.
The primary was June 11, 2024. The filing deadline was April 8, 2024.
Candidates and election results
General election
General election for North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Kirsten Baesler defeated Jason Heitkamp in the general election for North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kirsten Baesler (Nonpartisan) | 56.9 | 185,318 |
 | Jason Heitkamp (Nonpartisan) | 42.4 | 138,085 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 2,316 | ||
| Total votes: 325,719 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Kirsten Baesler and Jason Heitkamp defeated Jim Bartlett and Darko Draganic in the primary for North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction on June 11, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kirsten Baesler (Nonpartisan) | 54.9 | 59,170 |
| ✔ | | Jason Heitkamp (Nonpartisan) | 22.1 | 23,837 |
 | Jim Bartlett (Nonpartisan) | 19.7 | 21,216 | |
 | Darko Draganic (Nonpartisan) | 3.1 | 3,320 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 280 | ||
| Total votes: 107,823 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Voting information
- See also: Voting in North Dakota
Candidate comparison
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Incumbent: Yes
Political Office:
Superintendent of Public Instruction (Assumed office: 2013)
Mandan Public School Board (2004-2012)
Biography: Baesler received two associate's degrees from Bismarck State College, a bachelor's degree in education from Minot State University, and a master's degree in library and information technology from Valley City State University. She worked for 24 years in the Bismarck School District as an assistant, a teacher, a library specialist, and as a vice principal.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2024.
Incumbent: No
Political Office:
North Dakota Senate - District 26 (2021-2022)
Richland County Commissioner (2010-2014)
Biography: Heitkamp received a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from North Dakota State University, Fargo. He has worked as a farmer and as a truck driver.
Show sources
Sources: KX News, "Your guide to voting for Superintendent of Public Instruction candidates," May 28, 2024; Jason Heitkamp 2024 campaign website, "About," accessed September 11, 2024; KX News, "Jason Heitkamp running for ND Superintendent of Public Instruction," February 2, 2024; Wahpeton Daily News, "Heitkamp running against Baesler for ND education leader," February 2, 2024
This information was current as of the candidate's run for North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2024.
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. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign ads
This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.
Kirsten Baesler
Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Kirsten Baesler while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.
Jason Heitkamp
Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Jason Heitkamp while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.
Election competitiveness
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia researchers did not identify any candidate websites that provide endorsement information. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.
Election spending
Campaign finance
- See also: Campaign finance
Candidates in this election submitted campaign finance reports to the North Dakota Secretary of State's website.
Click here to access those reports.
Election analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
- Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
- State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
- Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
Cook PVI by congressional district
| Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for North Dakota, 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| District | Incumbent | Party | PVI |
| North Dakota's At-Large | Kelly Armstrong |  Republican |
R+20 |
2020 presidential results by 2024 congressional district lines
| 2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2024 district lines, North Dakota[11] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Joe Biden 
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Donald Trump 
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| North Dakota's At-Large | 31.9% | 65.5% | ||
2012-2020
How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:
| County-level voting pattern categories | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | |||||||
| Status | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | ||||
| Solid Democratic | D | D | D | ||||
| Trending Democratic | R | D | D | ||||
| Battleground Democratic | D | R | D | ||||
| New Democratic | R | R | D | ||||
| Republican | |||||||
| Status | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | ||||
| Solid Republican | R | R | R | ||||
| Trending Republican | D | R | R | ||||
| Battleground Republican | R | D | R | ||||
| New Republican | D | D | R | ||||
Following the 2020 presidential election, 95.7% of North Dakotans lived in one of the state's 47 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 2.2% lived in one of four Trending Republican counties. Overall, North Dakota was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in North Dakota following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.
| North Dakota county-level statistics, 2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Republican | 47 | 95.7% | |||||
| Trending Republican | 4 | 2.2% | |||||
| Solid Democratic | 2 | 2.1% | |||||
| Total voted Democratic | 2 | 2.1% | |||||
| Total voted Republican | 51 | 97.9% | |||||
Historical voting trends
North Dakota presidential election results (1900-2020)
- 5 Democratic wins
- 26 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.
U.S. Senate elections
The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in North Dakota.
| U.S. Senate election results in North Dakota | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Winner | Runner up |
| 2022 | 56.4% |
25.0%
|
| 2018 | 55.5% |
44.5%
|
| 2016 | 78.4% |
17.0%
|
| 2012 | 50.2% |
49.3%
|
| 2010 | 76.2% |
22.2%
|
| Average | 65.4 | 32.5 |
Gubernatorial elections
- See also: Governor of North Dakota
The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in North Dakota.
| Gubernatorial election results in North Dakota | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Winner | Runner up |
| 2020 | 65.8% |
25.4%
|
| 2016 | 76.5% |
19.4%
|
| 2012 | 63.1% |
34.3%
|
| 2008 | 74.4% |
23.5%
|
| 2004 | 71.3% |
27.4%
|
| Average | 70.2 | 26.0 |
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of North Dakota's congressional delegation as of May 2024.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from North Dakota | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 3 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in North Dakota's top four state executive offices as of May 2024.
| State executive officials in North Dakota, May 2024 | |
|---|---|
| Office | Officeholder |
| Governor | Doug Burgum
|
| Lieutenant Governor | Tammy Miller
|
| Secretary of State | Michael Howe
|
| Attorney General | Drew Wrigley
|
State legislature
North Dakota State Senate
| Party | As of February 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 4 | |
| Republican Party | 43 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 47 | |
North Dakota House of Representatives
| Party | As of February 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 12 | |
| Republican Party | 82 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 94 | |
Trifecta control
The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.
North Dakota Party Control: 1992-2024
No Democratic trifectas • Thirty 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | 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 | R |
| 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 |
| 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 |
The table below details demographic data in North Dakota and compares it to the broader United States as of 2022.
| Demographic Data for North Dakota | ||
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | United States | |
| Population | 779,094 | 331,449,281 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 68,993 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 84.5% | 65.9% |
| Black/African American | 3.2% | 12.5% |
| Asian | 1.6% | 5.8% |
| Native American | 4.7% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Other (single race) | 1.4% | 6% |
| Multiple | 4.4% | 8.8% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 4.3% | 18.7% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 93.5% | 89.1% |
| College graduation rate | 31.4% | 34.3% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $73,959 | $75,149 |
| Persons below poverty level | 6.1% | 8.8% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2017-2022). | ||
| **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. | ||
Election context
Past elections
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2012.
2020
General election
General election for North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Kirsten Baesler defeated Brandt Dick and Charles Tuttle in the general election for North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kirsten Baesler (Nonpartisan) | 59.1 | 192,835 |
 | Brandt Dick (Nonpartisan) | 39.9 | 130,280 | |
 | Charles Tuttle (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 3,005 | ||
| Total votes: 326,120 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Kirsten Baesler and Brandt Dick defeated Charles Tuttle in the primary for North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kirsten Baesler (Nonpartisan) | 54.2 | 76,987 |
| ✔ | | Brandt Dick (Nonpartisan) | 25.8 | 36,733 |
| Charles Tuttle (Nonpartisan) | 19.7 | 27,929 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 456 | ||
| Total votes: 142,105 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2016
General election
General election for North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Kirsten Baesler won election in the general election for North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 8, 2016.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Kirsten Baesler (Nonpartisan) |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
2012
Incumbent Wayne Sanstead did not seek re-election in 2012. Kirsten Baesler (supported by Republican convention) defeated Tracy Potter (Did not seek Democratic convention support) in the November 6, 2012 general election.
| North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Kirsten Baesler |
55.1% | 154,177 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tracy Potter | 44.6% | 124,807 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.4% | 1,069 | |
| Total Votes | 280,053 | |||
| Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State | ||||
See also
| North Dakota | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction official website
Footnotes
- ↑ North Dakota Monitor, "Incumbent Baesler, Heitkamp advance in superintendent of public instruction race," June 11, 2024
- ↑ The Dickinson Press, "Baesler and Heitkamp lead in Superintendent of Public Instruction race," accessed September 8, 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wahpeton Daily News, "Heitkamp running against Baesler for ND education leader," accessed September 8, 2024
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Minot Daily News, "DPI candidates seek different educational change," accessed September 8, 2024
- ↑ McKenzie County Farmer, "Public Instruction candidate Heitkamp calls for change on the campaign trail," accessed September 18, 2024
- ↑ KX News, "Your guide to voting for Superintendent of Public Instruction candidates," accessed September 8, 2024
- ↑ North Dakota Monitor, "School superintendent candidate says he has ‘backbone’ needed to lead K-12 schools," accessed September 8, 2024
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Education Week, "The Surprising Contenders for State Superintendent Offices This Year," accessed September 10, 2024
- ↑ North Dakota Monitor, "Baesler says NDGOP doesn’t reflect voters’ views on education," accessed September 10, 2024
- ↑ Facebook, accessed September 18, 2024
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed December 15, 2023
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