Pauly Denetclaw
ICT
WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, voters in Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina headed to the polls for their primary election. Next week, Oklahoma voters will do the same.
In June, 68 candidates from 8 states will be, or have gone through a primary election, according to a database managed by ICT and Advance Native Political Leadership. This is nearly 40 percent of the Indigenous candidates this cycle.
There won’t be these types of numbers until the August primaries.
There are six Indigenous candidates running in North Dakota.
- Richard Marcellais, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, State Senate District 9, Democrat
- Incumbent Jayme Davis, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, State House District 9, Democrat
- David “Doc” Brien, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, State House District 9, Republican
- Robert Graywater, Spirit Lake Nation, State House District 9, Republican
- Incumbent Lisa Finley-DeVille, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nations, State House District 4A, Democrat
- Ronald Brugh, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nations, State House District 4A, Republican
Previously, Marcellais was the state senator for North Dakota’s District 9. In 2022, he lost to current state senator Kent Weston by just 330 votes, according to Ballotpedia. He was first elected to office in 2006 and held that seat for 16 years.
In January, state House District 9A and 9B were merged to create District 9. This resulted in a special election for District 9. Davis represents District 9A and is running for reelection to represent the newly created District 9. She is running against two Indigenous Republican candidates, “Doc” Brien and Graywater, in the special election.
Incumbent and first-ever elected official for the newly created District 4A, a seat still being challenged in court, is Finley-DeVille. She is running for reelection. District 4A was created to ensure that Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations citizens could elect a candidate of their choosing. Finley-DeVille is being challenged by another MHA citizen, Brugh, a Republican.
There are just two Indigenous candidates in Nevada. Shea Backus, Cherokee, is the only Indigenous state legislator in Nevada and is hoping to get reelected. Arnold Thomas, Shoshone-Paiute, is in the race to become the second Indigenous state legislator. Both are Democrats.
They have no Democratic contenders and will automatically advance to the general election.
Backus will face David Brog, a Republican, in November. She was first elected in 2018 but lost her reelection campaign, in 2020, by a narrow margin to a Republican contender. Two years ago, she got her seat back with just 806 votes.
In April, Brog reported nearly $124,400 in campaign finances, according to Nevada Financial Disclosure Statements. Backus was able to exceed Brog’s fundraising, reporting $140,000 in campaign finances.
Thomas will face John Cardiff Gerhardt, who has no political affiliation, in the general election.
Incumbent Alexis Hansen will likely be the Republican candidate. Hansen is running against Jason Bushey in the primary election on June 11 but Bushey only reported $50 in campaign finances in March. Comparatively, Hansen reported nearly $37,500 according to Nevada Financial Disclosure Statements.
There is one candidate running for election in South Carolina. Fawn Pedalino, Natchez-Kusso Tribe, is running for South Carolina House of Representatives for District 64. She is a Republican.
Pedalino is the only Native American state legislator in South Carolina, according to the current and 2022 Indigenous candidates database.
The database is not complete and ICT encourages people to email political correspondent Pauly Denetclaw at pauly@ictnews.org to add a past or current 2024 candidate to the database.
Pedalino has no opponents and will automatically advance to the general election. She will face a Democratic contender.
Results
- Richard Marcellais, North Dakota, State Senate District 9: WON
- Jayme Davis, North Dakota, State House District 9: WON
- Collette Brown, North Dakota, State House District 9: WON
- David “Doc” Brien, North Dakota, State House District 9: WON
- Robert Graywater, North Dakota, State House District 9: WON
- Lisa Finley-DeVille, North Dakota, State House District 4A: WON
- Ronald Brugh, North Dakota, State House District 4A: WON
North Dakota’s House of Representatives has two elected officials who represent the 47 districts in the state. In the general election, Davis, Brown, Brien, and Graywater will all be running against each other. The top two will represent State House District 9.
Finley-DeVille and Brugh will face off in November to represent State House District 4A, which largely encompasses the lands of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations.
Continue to visit ictnews.org for updates on these races.
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