Shane Goettle

FARGO – Shane Goettle apparently leads the pack of GOP House candidates, according to an informal straw poll of attendees at last night’s debate in Valley City.

District 24 Republicans announced the results of their straw poll this morning.

The percentages reveal a competitive race among the five Republican contenders but also a wide gap between the leading and trailing candidates for the party.
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1. Shane Goettle, former state commerce commissioner        35%
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2. Brian Kalk, Public Service Commissioner                              32%
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3. Bette Grande, Fargo legislator                                                18%
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4. Kevin Cramer, Public Service Commissioner                        10%
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5. Kim Koppelman, West Fargo legislator                                    5%

About 115 people attended the nearly three-hour debate, in which the five candidates debated various political issues and conservative philosophies. The party’s official candidate will be decided in late March at the state GOP convention in Bismarck.

In two previous straw polls conducted separately by the North Dakota Tea Party Caucus and the North Dakota Policy Council, Grande and Cramer led the pack. Those surveys were done in October and mid-November, before all five GOP candidates had declared.