Mitt Romney vs. Rand Paul Proxy War Ignites in North Dakota’s Congressional Race

Dr. Rick Becker, the front-runner to win North Dakota’s at-large congressional seat, is in the middle of a proxy war between the Republican establishment and America First conservatives.

Becker touts his candidacy as a pro-liberty constitutional conservative. His top legislative issues are securing President Joe Biden’s open border, environmentalism, and inflation. He served in the state House from 2012 to 2022 and produced an America First legislative track record. The American Conservative Union Foundation awarded the only 100 percent conservative rating in North Dakota in 2021.

Becker jumped into the race after Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) decided to run for governor instead of for another term in Washington. Armstrong announced his retirement from Congress on January 23.

Candidates have had little time to make their case to voters, as the state’s GOP primary is quickly approaching, on June 11.

“This race is less about two candidates and more about a choice for North Dakotans between the status-quo Republican party of the past and the pro-liberty, pro-freedom Republican party of the future,” Becker exclusively told Breitbart News.

Becker is holding a double-digit lead to replace Armstrong, polling obtained by Breitbart News in March showed.

Becker’s lead apparently caused several establishment figures to oppose Becker and support Julie Fedorchak, a state bureaucrat who was a former member of Romney’s statewide steering committee. Fedorchak opposed term limits and was named a member of the Aspen Institute, a George Soros funded organization. She also lobbied for big pharma.

In May, Fedorchak failed to attend the second NDGOP primary debate.

“For the candidate who chose not to be here, I think she has sent the viewers a message, loud and clear,” Becker told the debate audience. “I’m running because I believe America is in a very tough spot. We got here by sending people to Congress who did not have our backs, who buckled under pressure, who did not have the principles, or at least, did not have the spine to stand up for those principles.”

Fedorchak previously attacked Becker for his willingness to aggressively oppose the Biden administration’s radical policies.

“You can’t be a bull in a china shop and just irritate people and alienate people,” she told WZFG. “You have to be able to work together, respect others, and sit down [to] talk about the issues and how you can find common ground and build the kind of alliances and coalitions you need to get things done on a serious issue facing our country.”

Becker, who endorsed former President Donald Trump, is endorsed by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Ron Paul, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO), and Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy. An action PAC run by former Paul staffers backed Becker with $200,000, Becker’s campaign told Breitbart News.

“The time of Romney Republican RINOs has passed,” Becker exclusively told Breitbart News. “North Dakotans want an America First candidate that will put North Dakotans before special interests.”

Becker said he is focused on securing the southern border and unleashing North Dakota’s energy potential. That means aggressively curtailing the Democrat’s woke agenda of reshaping America’s free economy into a socialistic state and allowing border patrol to enforce the nation’s laws.

“I think that we are at a point in time in which people are really looking for someone to be bold and to fight and to take on what I call the progressive, woke agenda,” Becker told the Associated Press.