Rural, Working Class Candidates Seen as Next Wave of Political Energy

 (Adobe Stock via Prairie News Service)

(By Mike Moen–Prairie News Service) – In North Dakota and its neighbors to the west, grassroots groups are recruiting rural residents and other underrepresented people to seek elected office, including on the local level. Organizers say they think there’s renewed energy to bring fresh voices to politics.

The Western Organization of Resource Councils, which has member groups in the Dakotas, is hosting training sessions this summer for people curious about running for seats on their local city council or school board, or even a statewide office.

Gwen Lachelt, political director of the Western Organization of Resource Councils, said the working class in these states could bring a deep understanding of community needs to government decision making. Winning an election is the hard part.

“We have a lot of seats where people have served in these elected positions for many years, some decades. And it’s really hard to break in,” she explained.