Kelly Armstrong
Republican. Governor of North Dakota.
- Age on Election Day 2028
- 52
- On November 7, 2028. Born October 8, 1976.
- Lean
- R+18
- Solidly Republican. Statewide, 2025 Cook PVI.
- Governor since
- 2024
- Took office December 15, 2024.
Overview
- Cash on hand
- $71,374
- North Dakota Secretary of State, Kelly Armstrong’s 2024 year-end statement, the latest on file11
- The state in 2024
- Trump won North Dakota in 2024.
- Earlier offices
- U.S. House, 2019 to 2024
- North Dakota Senate, 2012 to 2019
- Lieutenant governor
- Michelle Strinden (R)
- 2028 plans
- No public statement on record.
Lean is the state’s 2025 Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI): R+5 to R+9 is lean Republican, R+10 and up solidly Republican, and D+ leans Democratic. Approval is the latest published Morning Consult rating, from its quarterly survey of registered voters in each state. Last election is the share of the vote the governor won. Cash on hand is the campaign’s money at the end of the reporting period named.
Sources (3)
- 1Kelly Armstrong, official page Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ www.governor.nd.gov/ governor-kelly-armstrong - 22025 Cook PVI, state list (Cook Political Report), checked against the 2020 and 2024 presidential results Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ www.cookpolitical.com/ cook-pvi/ 2025-partisan-voting-index/ state-map-and-list - 3Morning Consult, approval, April 1 to June 30, 2026 Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ pro-assets.morningconsult.com/ wp-uploads/ 2026/ 07/ State-Leader-Pulse-Q2-2026.pdf
Term limit and tenure
Whether the state’s term limit lets the governor run in 2028, how many more terms the governor could win, and the latest date the governor could serve to.
Can the governor run in 2028?
Can run in 2028
The state’s limit allows the governor to be on the November 7, 2028 ballot.
- Terms left from 2028
- 1 more term
- Further terms the governor could still win, from the 2028 election on.
- Could serve to
- December 15, 2032
- 4 years past January 2029, winning every race allowed.
The rule
‘An individual shall not be elected to the office of governor more than twice’ (N.D. Const. Art. XV, Sec. 2, added by 2022 Measure 1, prospective from Jan 1, 2023). Terms are four years.
Sources (1)
- 4The state’s term-limit rule Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ www.ndlegis.gov/ constit/ a15.pdf
The state’s rules for governor
What North Dakota’s own constitution or statutes ask of a candidate for governor, each from the official page that was opened.
- Minimum age
- 30 years oldStated in North Dakota Constitution, Article V, Section 4 (opens in a new tab).
- Citizenship
- A U.S. citizen, because the governor must be a qualified elector.Article V, Section 4 does not use the word citizen. Article II, Section 1 says only a U.S. citizen can be a qualified elector.Follows from North Dakota Constitution, Article II, Section 1, which Article V, Section 4 relies on by requiring a qualified elector (opens in a new tab).
- Residency
- A resident of North Dakota for the 5 years before the election.Stated in North Dakota Constitution, Article V, Section 4 (opens in a new tab).
- Qualified voter
- Must be a qualified voterStated in North Dakota Constitution, Article V, Section 4 (opens in a new tab).
- Governor elections
- The next is November 7, 2028.
- Where candidates file
- North Dakota Secretary of State, Elections (opens in a new tab)Confirmed by Candidate: the Secretary of State is the filing officer for federal, statewide, legislative, and judicial contests (opens in a new tab).
- State government
- nd.gov (opens in a new tab)
In the state’s own words
“To be eligible to hold an elective office established by this article, a person must be a qualified elector of this state, must be at least twenty-five years of age on the day of the election, and must have been a resident of this state for the five years preceding election to office. To be eligible to hold the office of governor or lieutenant governor, a person must be at least thirty years old on the day of the election.”
“Only a citizen of the United States, who has attained the age of eighteen years and who is a North Dakota resident, shall be a qualified elector.”
Stated: the cited text says it. Follows from: it follows from two cited provisions, named in the note. Not stated: the cited text lists the rules and this is not among them. Not verified: the source could not be opened, so nothing is recorded. Pages opened October 3, 2026.
Sources (5)
- 5North Dakota Constitution, Article V, Section 4 Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ ndlegis.gov/ constit/ a05.pdf - 6North Dakota Constitution, Article II, Section 1, which Article V, Section 4 relies on by requiring a qualified elector Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ ndlegis.gov/ constit/ a02.pdf - 7North Dakota Secretary of State, Elections Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ www.sos.nd.gov/ elections - 8Candidate: the Secretary of State is the filing officer for federal, statewide, legislative, and judicial contests Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ www.sos.nd.gov/ elections/ candidate - 9North Dakota state government Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ www.nd.gov/
Election history
- 2024 election
- Won with 68.3% of the voteOfficial results (opens in a new tab)
- 2028
- The governor’s race is on the ballot November 7, 2028.
Sources (1)
- 10Official results, 2024 Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ results.sos.nd.gov/ resultsSW.aspx?text=Race&type=SW&map=CTY
Financial records
- Cash on hand
- $71,374
Governors report campaign money to their own state, not the Federal Election Commission. The site shows it only where the state’s latest report could be checked.
Sources (1)
- 11North Dakota Secretary of State, Kelly Armstrong’s 2024 year-end statement, the latest on file Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ cf.sos.nd.gov/ search/ showcommittee.aspx?cid=2963&did=14110&yr=2024
Scorecards
- Cato Institute fiscal report card (opens in a new tab) 2024 edition, before this governor took office
- No score published
The Cato Institute’s Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors, a letter grade with its score out of 100. Its latest edition (2024) grades only governors then in office. The group’s name links to its scorecard.
“No score published” means the group published none, not zero.
Sources (1)
- 12Cato Institute fiscal report card scorecard Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ www.cato.org/ white-paper/ fiscal-policy-report-card-americas-governors-2024
Endorsements
By the groups the House field tracks for Republicans: Donald Trump, Club for Growth, Turning Point Action and MAHA PAC.
2028 race so far
None on record: Donald Trump, Club for Growth, Turning Point Action, MAHA PAC.
Sources: ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab); clubforgrowth.org (opens in a new tab); tpaction.com (opens in a new tab); themahapac.com (opens in a new tab).
2024 race
Endorsed: Donald Trump.
None on record: Club for Growth, Turning Point Action, MAHA PAC.
Sources: kfyrtv.com (opens in a new tab); northdakotamonitor.com (opens in a new tab); ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab); clubforgrowth.org (opens in a new tab).
Endorsed: the group endorsed the officeholder in that race. None on record: no endorsement found in the sources listed.
Sources (7)
- 13Endorsements, 2028 race so far: ballotpedia.org Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ ballotpedia.org/ Endorsements_by_Donald_Trump - 14Endorsements, 2028 race so far: clubforgrowth.org Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ www.clubforgrowth.org/ elections/ pac-endorsed-candidates/ - 15Endorsements, 2028 race so far: tpaction.com Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ www.tpaction.com/ endorsements - 16Endorsements, 2028 race so far: themahapac.com Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ www.themahapac.com/ endorsements - 17Endorsements, 2024 race: kfyrtv.com Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ www.kfyrtv.com/ 2024/ 05/ 30/ trump-endorses-kelly-armstrong-governor/ - 18Endorsements, 2024 race: northdakotamonitor.com Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ northdakotamonitor.com/ briefs/ donald-trump-endorses-fedorchak-for-us-house/ - 19Endorsements, 2024 race: clubforgrowth.org Open the source (opens in a new tab) https:/
/ www.clubforgrowth.org/ 2024-election-results/
Sources
Each section lists its own sources, numbered through the page. Here they are together.
All sources for this record (19)
Overview
Term limit and tenure
The state’s rules for governor
- 5North Dakota Constitution, Article V, Section 4 (opens in a new tab)
- 6North Dakota Constitution, Article II, Section 1, which Article V, Section 4 relies on by requiring a qualified elector (opens in a new tab)
- 7North Dakota Secretary of State, Elections (opens in a new tab)
- 8Candidate: the Secretary of State is the filing officer for federal, statewide, legislative, and judicial contests (opens in a new tab)
- 9North Dakota state government (opens in a new tab)
Election history
Financial records
Endorsements
- 13Endorsements, 2028 race so far: ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)
- 14Endorsements, 2028 race so far: clubforgrowth.org (opens in a new tab)
- 15Endorsements, 2028 race so far: tpaction.com (opens in a new tab)
- 16Endorsements, 2028 race so far: themahapac.com (opens in a new tab)
- 17Endorsements, 2024 race: kfyrtv.com (opens in a new tab)
- 18Endorsements, 2024 race: northdakotamonitor.com (opens in a new tab)
- 19Endorsements, 2024 race: clubforgrowth.org (opens in a new tab)
Continue
Record 7 of 11 in the governor field, in order of state.
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