Gov. Doug Burgum is appointing Wade Boeshans to fill the empty District 8 state house seat.
David Andahl won the seat in the general election. But he passed away with COVID-19 in October. And his name remained on the ballot.
An Attorney General’s opinion said under state law, the District 8 Republican executive committee would make that appointment. But in a statement, Burgum said after extensive research, those vacancy statutes did not apply because Andahl was not a qualified elector on the day of the election, and could not be selected. Burgum said under the state’s Constitution, the Governor can fill a vacancy, if there is no other method provided by the Constitution, or by state law.
Boeshans is the president and general manager of BNI Energy, and currently chairs the Lignite Energy Council. Burgum said he will be sworn in during the Legislature’s December organizational session.
