Trygve Hammer
October 9, 2026 · Newsletter
Three Candidates and a No-Show
I was the first to give a one-minute opening statement. There was no clock. When the moderator made some sort of sound, I stopped. He said, “Sorry.” I started again, finished a sentence, but left one sentence unsaid. Should have put my thank yous at the end.
At one point, a candidate said, “If you’re brown, you’re going down.” It wasn’t an expression of that candidate’s beliefs but of ICE’s idea of probable cause, backed by Justice Kavanaugh’s ruling. That sentence would prompt some snickering from an audience of thirteen-year-old boys. A little bathroom humor. A pinch of double entendre. My wife, watching from a conference room in the same building, suspected that my mind may have drifted in that direction.
“What direction?” I asked. I am much more staid and sophisticated than she believes.
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Another candidate said that COVID-19 wasn’t real, or something to that effect. The question wasn’t about COVID, I was sure, but I wondered for a moment if I had heard the question incorrectly.
Overall, though, the debate was a worthwhile experience and a necessary one. We should do it more often. Incumbents, especially, should do it more often. They are the ones who need to be held accountable, after all. They are also the ones who have been immersed in the issues as part of their well-paying day job. To most of us, that would seem like a natural—maybe even unfair—advantage. It is one of the many advantages of incumbency.
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All of the candidates present at the debate agreed that the influence of big money is a big problem in our politics. North Dakotans I’ve met on the campaign trail don’t believe corporations are persons and campaign spending is protected free speech.
The incumbent, who was in the same city absent from the debate, would beg to differ. She’s got a lot of corporate PAC money, and AIPAC money. She is going to let the money talk and send out a mailer that looks suspiciously campaign-ish at the very end of the window where she can send it at taxpayer expense. Nothing illegal, just a little bit funny.
“Just a little bit funny” is an identical twin to “presenting the appearance of impropriety.” Over the last two years, we’ve seen Congress give an inch and grifters take a mile. The next inch given results in ten miles taken, and before long, the road for corruption, incompetence, and unseemly behavior is paved beyond the horizon.
The next Congress will have to police that road and lay down obstacles until it is impassable. I believe that the pendulum is about to swing back toward accountability and decency. That is the thing I want to be part of, and I could use your help. Donations are great. Sharing these posts really helps. We never turn down prayers or wishes upon a star or supportive comments in our social media.
Have a great weekend,
Trygve