State Capitol in Bismarck (KFGO file photo)
LARIMORE, N.D. (NORTH DAKOTA MONITOR) – The Republican Party of North Dakota’s District 20 has selected Larimore farmer Dave Rustebakke to fill a House seat vacated earlier this year.
Rustebakke has not held elected office before but is acquainted with the Legislature, having spent eight years as the legislative director for Farm Bureau of North Dakota. Rustebakke replaces former Rep. Jared Hagert, who resigned in February to take a position with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. The executive committee of the District 20 Republicans selected Rustebakke on Saturday.
District 20 legislators would not normally be up for election this year, but the House seat will be on the general election ballot in November.
Rustebakke said he plans to run to fill the remainder of Hagert’s term, which expires in 2028.
There will be no primary election for the District 20 seat. Instead, there could be more than one candidate from a party on the general election ballot, Sandy McMerty, deputy secretary of state, said Monday.
The filing deadline for the District 20 seat is Aug. 31. District 20 encompasses parts of western Grand Forks County, including Larimore, Traill County and part of Walsh County.
Rustebakke said he is nearing retirement from farming and looking for “new challenges.”
“I hope to help with my expertise in ag,” said Rustebakke, adding he also has interest in oil, coal and water management. He said before becoming Farm Bureau’s legislative director, he worked for the organization in western North Dakota.
Rustebakke has an agricultural economics degree from North Dakota State University. He is a former chair of the North Dakota Credit Review Board and served on an ag mediation board for farmers under financial stress.
Sen. Randy Lemm and Rep. Mike Beltz, both Republicans from Hillsboro, are the other members of the district’s delegation.
Hagert and Beltz did not have opponents in the 2024 general election.
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