Mac Schneider is running for Congress.
The Democrat is an administrative lawyer from Grand Forks, and a former legislator. He says the biggest problem in Washington today is elected officials who are unable to work together for solutions to problems - so his campaign is about working for the people of North Dakota. Schneider says in some cases that may mean supporting the President - he says he supports President Trumps rollbacks of regulations like the Waters of the US Rule or the Dodd Frank Regulations that hindered lending to small town banks or credit unions. He also supports strengthening the nation's military. But he says loyalty to North Dakota is bigger than one man.
"Loyalty to North Dakotans means preserving access to health care, like the kind that was gained under the bipartisan success of Medicare expansion, lead by legislators like Tim Mathern. It also means preserving trade agreements that provide critical export markets for our agricultural producers. And it means preserving Social Security and Medicare, programs that are absolutely essential to so many North Dakota seniors and so many of the people that I represent on a daily basis. So if any of those North Dakota priorities are threatened, I will stand up for North Dakota and work with anyone to make sure that we preserve those important things for our state."
Schneider was at one time press secretary for Congressman Earl Pomeroy. He says he never saw himself one day hoping to step into that same role, but he does hope to bring the same energy and reverence to the office as his former mentor.
"No matter how busy he was, if he saw a tour group of high school kids from North Dakota, he would always stop and talk to them and he'd give the same speech every time. He'd open up his wallet, and he'd take out a little card that looks like a hotel room key, and he'd say that 'this is North Dakota's only vote in Congress,' and that he never forgot that it belongs to the people of North Dakota. And so, that's the approach I will take as well."
Fellow Democrats Ben Hanson and John Grabinger are also running for the lone congressional seat, as well as Republicans Tom Campbell and Kelly Armstrong. Sitting Republican Congressman Kevin Cramer is leaving the House to run for a seat on the US Senate.