(Fargo, ND) – The final debate between Congressman Kelly Armstrong and Lieutenant Governor Tammy Miller, who are facing off for the Republican nomination for Governor, took place Friday night in Fargo. AM 1100 The Flag, AM 1090 The Flag and AM 970 WDAY hosted the debate. Steve Hallstrom and Scott Hennen served as moderators for the debate.
The two candidates shared their views on the state and what they would do if elected to the office of Governor.
Unfair tactics
The campaign trail has contained strong accusations and sharp attack ads.
Miller called out Armstrong.
“Kelly started negative ads almost immediately after I announced my run on February 15th,” Miller said. “And a lot of his ads have said that I am a liar. And it is really offensive to hear those ads.”
She said anyone who would be asked to serve as Lieutenant Governor wouldn’t be if they were a liar.
Armstrong countered her comments.
“And a lot of his ads have said that I am a liar. And it is really offensive to hear those ads,” he said.
Armstrong said he was most disappointed with Miller’s claim that he “blew a hole” in North Dakota’s budget.
“As somebody who served in the legislature for six years, that's a little concerning to me,” he said. “Every time we leave the legislative session, by law, we have to balance the budget.”
Armstrong said the budget was ‘blown up’ because of an analysis by Moody’s in the oil industry.
Conception
Both candidates were asked about their views on life beginning at conception, and whether or not they would support any exceptions in regards to abortion.
Both Miller and Armstrong agree that life begins at conception.
“Every single thing we do about abortion policy should be to make sure we have less abortions tomorrow than we did yesterday,” Armstrong said.
Miller said her faith grounds her stance.
Both agree with exceptions.
“I'm okay with exceptions for life of the mother rape and incest because I think that's where the North Dakota population is,” Armstrong said. “And I think that gets us in a position to have less abortions tomorrow than we did yesterday.”
Miller touted the state’s newest legislation when talking about exceptions.
“We do have a new abortion ban in the state of North Dakota that has very narrow exceptions and I completely agree and support those exceptions,” she said.
Legacy Fund
North Dakota's Legacy Fund currently has a balance of approximately $10.55 billion. Five percent interest means the fund would generate theoretically about $530 million a year of spendable income for the state of North Dakota. Both candidates were asked how that money should be spent.
“I think we can use it for tax relief, and if we don't use it for tax relief, we should be investing in long-term investments in the state of North Dakota that will be lasting and make a difference,” Miller said.
Armstrong said, whatever is being done, North Dakota residents need to know what the funds are used for.
“It's the 21st century,” he said. “The transparency of how that money goes is going to be really important.”
He said he feels the money should not be invested in anything that is competing with existing businesses.
“The last thing in the world you want to do is, being a private business that has somebody who's in the same business as you getting state dollars across the street, dealing with those types of issues,” Armstrong said. “So being able to invest it and making sure you can show the North Dakota citizens the value of it becomes really, really important.”
Federal regulations, rules and North Dakota impacts
Armstrong said North Dakota is unique, with EPA primacy with carbon capture an FAA line of sight waivers.
He said the state could join other states, but sometimes it might not work.
“Joining with other states, combining resources, because it doesn't matter if you're in Wyoming, Montana, or North Dakota, when you have an EPA clean air emission, it affects all of us,” Armstrong said. “It just sometimes affects North Dakota a little differently. I think more importantly, we have to really, really work to injunctive relief.”
Miller said the answer is to get Donald Trump reelected.
“We see every day the regulations that are being pushed down from the Biden administration. Our teams are spending a lot of time pushing back to impact to see the impact on the state of North Dakota, how it's killing our fossil fuels and agricultural industries,” she said. “And we absolutely will need to increase that budget if we don't have a change in the White House.”
Summit Carbon Solutions and Carbon Capture
A pair of hot topics across the state is the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline and carbon capture. Both candidates were asked if they support the projects.
“There is a demand for low carbon products,” Miller said. “This is a good opportunity for energy and agriculture in the state of North Dakota.”
Miller said her business leadership allows her to see supply and demand.
She disagrees with the approach with eminent domain.
“I firmly believe in private property rights. They should not be compromised for this capital opportunity,” Miller said. “We need to protect private property rights and would not support eminent domain to get a pipeline done.”
Armstrong supports all pipelines – saying it is “the safest way to transport anything.”
“I will vote against the repower provision and the production tax credit for renewable energy,” he said. “The problem is it's gonna get 218 votes in the house and two and 60 votes in the Senate.”
Advocating for mental health
A lot of discussion recently surrounds mental health and the concerns. There have not been ‘concrete plans’ to help address the problem, but both candidates had a way to address the issues.
Armstrong said telehealth needs to be expanded.
“We have to deliver these services with the services we have, not the services we wish we had,” he said. “And what I mean by that is they're not enough people going to college right now to fill the open mental health addiction counseling, school counseling positions that exist in the entire country.”
Miller said challenges with mental health are being seen statewide, but especially within the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
“We have lots of addiction and mental health that are improperly dealt with in corrections versus in private facilities. I really believe that, first off, we need to look at licensure. I know of several people who are working in our state who need to work under supervision,” she said. “They have 20 plus years of experience and need to work under supervision to get a license in North Dakota to practice.”
Miller also said there needs to be universal licensure, which would address workforce challenges.
