Appointment of North Dakota Lawmaker in Limbo

State Rep. Cindy Schreiber-Beck. (Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Residents of District 25 are still short one representative after the death of Rep. Cindy Schreiber-Beck amid uncertainty about whether the southeast North Dakota Republican Party district properly elected a chair.

Secretary of State Michael Howe that there may not be a legal path in state law for him or Legislative Management to fill the vacancy.

Ann Smith, who described herself as chair of the District 25 Republicans, said naming Richland County Commissioner Terry Goerger as the new lawmaker. Schreiber-Beck, a Republican from Wahpeton, died in May. When a lawmaker dies while in office, state law calls for the district committee of the political party to appoint a successor.

The North Dakota Republican Party said that the appointment of Goerger is invalid.