BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota Republicans on Tuesday nominated U.S. Rep. Rick Berg for U.S. Senate and were choosing his possible congressional replacement from between two state public service commissioners.
Berg, a freshman congressman, defeated GOP opponent Duane Sand in Tuesday's primary, setting up a fall matchup against former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp. She had no Democratic primary opposition for her own Senate bid.
"I'm just really fired up," Berg said. "If we're going to stop (President Barack) Obama's policies that are hurting families and small businesses, we have to get control of the Senate. Now, we'll just crank it up a few more notches, and explain what our vision is."
Sand said he had "no regrets" about his primary challenge.
"I thought if I got my message out, I could win. I never was able to get our message out," Sand said. "I knew it was going to be an uphill battle."
Sand, a Navy veteran who served on a nuclear submarine, said his next effort would be an initiative to push construction of a nuclear power plant in North Dakota. Most of the state's electricity is supplied by coal-fueled plants in the western part of North Dakota.
Berg won over voters such as Josh Kimele, 40, of Bismarck, who said Berg "seems like a safer vote." He said he'd supported Berg's first bid for Congress in 2012, when Berg defeated longtime incumbent Democrat Earl Pomeroy.
"I think he's on the right side of most of the issues. I get the sense that he's not going to be in favor of cutting deals to raise taxes, or to overregulate or overburden the economy."
The race for U.S. House was between Kevin Cramer and Brian Kalk, both of whom serve on the state Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, grain elevators and coal mine land reclamation. They even have offices next door to each other on the state Capitol's 12th floor.
"We've raised the money we needed to do. We've got our yard signs out. We've got our grass-roots stuff in place," Kalk said. "We're just waiting to see how it all turns out, because there's just such a large universe of people that are going to show up."
Berg's departure, less than two years after he was elected to Congress, translated to an open House seat, ultimately leading six Republicans to vie for the GOP House nomination. The Democrats' House candidate, Pam Gulleson, had no primary opposition.
Kalk prevailed over four rivals, including two North Dakota state lawmakers and a former director of the state Commerce Department, for the endorsement of Republican activists at the state party's convention in April. The convention traditionally picks Republican candidates for statewide office, and primary challenges are rare. Cramer, however, declared in January that he would bypass the convention and run in the GOP primary in any case.
"My rationale for this is to open up the party process and invite all Republicans from around the state into this decision," Cramer said then.
The move prompted grumbling among some GOP activists, who pointed out that Cramer had discouraged such challenges when he served as the North Dakota Republican chairman and director.
Detractors said Cramer had calculated he was likely to lose a convention endorsement, and that he declared his intention to run in the primary early to avoid being labeled as a sore loser if delegates spurned him.
One voter said Cramer already had his chance. Josh Kiemele, 40, who works as a goldsmith in a Bismarck jewelry store, said he chose Kalk at the polls because Cramer had lost two previous races for Congress.
Cramer "has had his shot a few times and he's been defeated," Kiemele said. "I think Brian Kalk is going to be more palatable to the electorate."
Joshua Ternes, 33, went with Cramer, however, because Cramer's "religious and personal views are in line with mine."