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Our verdict

LiberalMind endorses Michael Howe

Election Day is November 3. Michael Howe, elected secretary of state in 2022 with 63% of the vote after five years in the state House, seeks a second term running on the office's new websites and filing portals. Ryan Braunberger, a Fargo state senator since 2023, says he is running to boost public trust in elections. Research located no campaign-finance totals and no polling for this race, and this article prints none. LiberalMind endorses Michael Howe. Read the research, and see why.

How North Dakota got here

North Dakota elects its statewide executives on staggered cycles. The primaries were held June 9, 2026. The roster is confirmed by the North Dakota Living voter guide: Michael Howe (Republican), incumbent, and Ryan Braunberger (Democratic-NPL). Howe won the Republican primary with write-in opposition only — 74,102 votes, 99.6%. Braunberger won the Democratic-NPL primary and was endorsed by the Dem-NPL convention on March 7, 2026.

Offices not on the 2026 ballot, for context: Governor, State Treasurer, State Auditor, and Insurance Commissioner were all elected in 2024 and are next up in 2028.

The money and the competitiveness evidence, stated plainly: research located no campaign-finance totals and no polling or ratings for any North Dakota statewide race in this set, including this one. No money figures and no competitiveness evidence are printed, because none were located. The sourced structural facts are Howe's 63% win in 2022 — over Jeffrey Powell (D-NPL) and independent Charles Tuttle — and the state's 2024 presidential baseline, printed as context, not as a rating for this race.

Michael Howe (Republican) — the proven incumbent

Background and service: Elected Secretary of State in 2022 with 63%; previously a state representative from the Casselton area, 2017–2022. His re-election case, in his own words: "The work's not done." He touts the new Secretary of State website and the campaign-finance and statement-of-interest portals, with an online business-filing portal update still in progress. In this cycle his office launched the upgraded Campaign Finance Reporting System and a new Statement of Interests System.

Pros: Proven in this exact office, elected statewide with 63% after legislative service. His first-term case is concrete and office-specific — a new website, live campaign-finance and statement-of-interest systems, and a business-filing update in progress — the transparency machinery this office exists to run.

Cons: On this record, the con is incompleteness, not proven conduct: the business-filing portal update he touts is still in progress, by his own account. No scandal or verification failure was located for Howe in this research.

The flaw, plainly: None proven in service on this record.

Ryan Braunberger (Democratic-NPL) — the Fargo state senator

Background and service: State senator from Fargo since 2023. Endorsed by the Dem-NPL convention on March 7, 2026. He says he ran "to boost public trust in elections" — his stated reason, printed as his words.

The Manchin-test fact, stated plainly: No in-service break by Braunberger with his party on Constitution, free-market, or freedom values was located in this research — no vote or documented act in his Senate service was sourced for this race.

Pros: A sitting state senator — proven as a legislator since 2023 — running on election trust, which is this office's core subject. He gives voters a contested race for the office that administers elections and business filings.

Cons: He has never held statewide or executive office, and his Senate record pulled for this race is thin — the research locates his stated purpose but no documented break, signature act, or elections-administration record to inspect. No Manchin-test break is sourced.

The flaw, plainly: No proven flaw in service was located — and no proven exception case either. Braunberger is priced as a party-line Democrat on this record, not as an extremist; nothing in this file supports the stronger word.

The minor candidates, briefly

There are none on the rosters consulted for this office. A standing check found no pedophile-association material meeting the proven standard for either candidate — absence noted, nothing implied.

OUR CALL

LiberalMind endorses Michael Howe.

Howe is proven in this office, won it with 63%, and points to delivered transparency systems — campaign-finance and statement-of-interest portals voters and candidates actually use — with the next filing upgrade openly still in progress. Braunberger is a credible sitting senator whose file for this race contains a stated purpose and no documented in-service break from his party on our values. The Manchin test looks in service; there is nothing there to certify. Endorse the proven in-service conservative.

For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.

Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Sources

Election result — November 5, 2026

Winner: Michael Howe (Republican) — called by the Associated Press. This result was appended on November 5, 2026 (results wave 3); the original article above is unchanged, exactly as published before Election Day.

AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.

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