Former school board member appointed to Williston-area legislative vacancy

North Dakota House chamber. (Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

A former Williams County school board member will replace Rep. Scott Dyk in the North Dakota House of Representatives after District 23 Republican Party members selected him Tuesday night.

Dennis Nehring, of Round Prairie Township, west of Williston, won unanimous support during a vote held by district NDGOP members at Eagle Ridge Golf Club, according to the North Dakota Legislative Council.

“It’s certainly humbling,” Nehring said told the North Dakota Monitor Wednesday. “It’s taking a little getting used to.”

Nehring was the owner and operator of a ranch in the area and worked in the oil fields before retiring about four years ago. He is also a former Williams County District 8 school board member.

Dyk, elected in 2023, resigned on April 7 , citing family health issues. The candidate filing deadline for the June primary was April 8 and District 23 didn’t receive notice of Dyk’s resignation until April 9.

Williston lawmaker resigns from Legislature

Erika White, director of elections for the North Dakota Secretary of State’s Office, said having a legislative resignation after the filing deadline for the primary but before a general election is a unique situation.

For Nehring to complete the remainder of Dyk’s term, he will have to run in the November general election.

White said all four political parties that have ballot access for the 2024 general election – the NDGOP, Dem-NPL, Libertarian Party and the No Labels Party – will be able to submit names of endorsed candidates to appear on the ballot for the District 23 seat. Candidates may also submit signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office to gain ballot access, if they fail to receive a party’s endorsement.

“The unexpired term will be on the 2024 ballot,” White said. “It’s going to be an unexpired two-year term, vote for one.”

The candidate filing deadline for the November general election is Sept. 3.

Nehring said he wasn’t sure if he would need to run for the seat in November, but believes he would have the support of the NDGOP.

“I would like to think that that is why they did what they did,” he said.

Nehring said his three priorities in the  Legislature are going to be education, fiscal accountability and personal property rights.

“Hopefully, if I do things correctly, I might be able to do some good,” Nehring said.

Nehring briefly served on the Williams County School Board after winning a November 2020 recall election . However, in December 2020, voters in Williams County voted to combine Williams County School District 8 with Williston Public School District 1 to form the Williston Basin School District 7. Nehring was not selected to be a part of the new district’s school board, according to the Williston Herald .

Nehring also was a leader in a failed 2023 effort to replace three members of the Williston Basin School District 7 during a recall election.

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