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Democrats endorse 3 tribal members in District 9
North Dakota District 9 Democrats endorsed former state Sen. Richard Marcellais, left, and Rep. Jayme Davis as 2024 legislative candidates. A third candidate, Craig Poitra, also was endorsed. (Photos provided by the North Dakota Legislative Assembly)
Former state senator seeks to regain his seat
All three of the endorsed Democratic candidates from North Dakota’s District 9 are members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, setting up the likelihood of an election with five Native Americans for the three legislative seats.
The three candidates include Richard Marcellais, a longtime state senator who will try to regain a seat.
Marcellais was endorsed for the Senate seat Sunday during the District 9 Democratic nominating convention that was held by video conference because of a winter storm in northern North Dakota.
Marcellais won the Senate nomination over Rep. Jayme Davis, who had chosen to run for Senate rather than the House.
After Marcellais won the Senate endorsement, Davis sought a House seat endorsement.
Davis and Craig Poitra won the endorsements for the two House seats from a pool of five candidates, including former legislator and one-time candidate for governor Marvin Nelson of Rolla.
Davis is a policy adviser for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. Poitra serves as a Rolette County Commissioner. Neither could be reached for comment this week.
The nominations mean there will likely be at least two Native Americans representing District 9, which was redrawn this year to include both the Turtle Mountain and Spirit Lake reservations.
The District 9 Republican Party on Feb. 24 endorsed David “Doc” Brien, a Turtle Mountain tribal member, and Robert Graywater, a Spirit Lake member, for the district’s two House seats.
Marcellais, who served 16 years in the Senate, will likely face state Sen. Judy Estenson, R-Warwick, a non-tribal member who lives on the Spirit Lake Reservation.
Marcellais and Brien have both served as chair of the Turtle Mountain Band.
“It’s pretty amazing to see that level of representation that we’ve built,” said Nicole Donaghy of ND Native Vote.
She said there were 10 Native American legislative candidates in 2022. Candidates have until April 8 to file for the 2024 election.
“I really hope that this trend continues to grow,” Donaghy said.
Marcellais said he had five bills drafted for the 2023 legislative session but lost the 2022 election to Republican Sen. Kent Weston of Sarles.
“I’m looking forward to November,” Marcellais said.
Estenson and Weston ended up swapping districts after U.S. District Judge Peter Welte ruled in favor of the Turtle Mountain and Spirit Lake tribes when they challenged the district lines drawn by the Legislature in 2021 and used in the 2022 election.
The tribes argued that under the Voting Rights Act the two reservations should be in the same legislative district. Welte agreed and in January ordered that the state use a new district map with the two reservations in District 9. Native Americans are now a majority in the district.
“To know that you are running amongst your peers, I think that also entices people to run for office,” Donaghy said.
The court-ordered redistricting primarily affects districts 9 and 15, forcing an election in those districts even though candidates were elected from those districts in 2022. The seats in those districts also will be on the ballot again in 2026, when the other odd-numbered districts are up for elections.
Even-numbered districts are electing legislators this year.