A recent Bismarck Tribune editorial sees great cause for optimism for North Dakota’s Democratic-Nonpartisan League party after 12 candidates across four districts were endorsed at the Region 6 district convention — a meaningful step breaking the pattern of what had been letting Republican incumbents run unopposed.

The editorial argues that North Dakota’s one-party dominance has weakened democratic accountability, and that the Dem-NPL’s ability to replicate Region 6’s candidate recruitment statewide could determine the party’s future viability.

The piece also points to internal Republican fractures — a split between a MAGA-aligned populist faction and the traditional “Old Guard” — as an opening for Democrats. Add to that stagnating GOP fundraising, voter dissatisfaction on issues like farm markets, healthcare, and immigration, declining oil revenues, and approaching term limits that will push out entrenched Republican incumbents, and the editorial suggests conditions may be more favorable for Democrats than they’ve been in years.

Click here to read the editorial in its entirety (Bismarck Tribune subscription required).