North Dakota State Representative District 41 Choose 2
The North Dakota State House consists of 94 representatives, who meet in regular legislative sessions to make our state laws and set our state budget. Learn more at ndlegis.gov.
Biographical Information
Endorsements
Republican Party
Website
http://bensonforhouse.com
Campaign Email
jennifer@bensonforhouse.com
Campaign X (formerly Twitter)
@@BensonforND
What are your top priorities?
My priorities reflect the concerns I hear most often from North Dakotans: continued property tax relief and affordability; workforce challenges; protecting individual liberties; expanding educational opportunities; and accountable, efficient government. My eight years in elected office and current public-policy work have reinforced my belief that good government listens, measures results, and respects taxpayers.
How would you ensure that North Dakotans’ healthcare costs are affordable?
After 20+ years working in healthcare, I believe we need to put patients and consumers back in the driver’s seat. That means price transparency, fewer costly government mandates, and more competition and choice, including Direct Primary Care, independent and fee-for-service practices, and preventive, whole-person approaches. Government should set appropriate guardrails, not dictate every healthcare decision.
How would you address the housing needs of the state?
Housing affordability starts with supply. We should examine regulations, permitting delays, zoning restrictions, infrastructure challenges, and other costs that make housing harder and more expensive to build. I favor removing unnecessary barriers, encouraging private investment and competition, and giving communities flexibility to meet local needs rather than relying primarily on government subsidies.
What is your position on allowing public funds to be directed to non-public education?
I support expanding educational opportunities & allowing parents to decide which setting fits their child’s needs best. After eight years on the Fargo School Board—and coming from a family of educators—I strongly support excellent public schools, but no single model fits every child. Funding should be about educating students, not protecting a particular delivery system. A healthy education market place also gives teachers more opportunities to innovate, lead, and teach in a variety of settings.
What are your views on the current voting methods and access to voting in North Dakota?
North Dakotans should have confidence that our elections are secure, transparent, and accurately administered. I don’t see access and election integrity as competing goals, we should expect both. I support voter identification, accurate voter rolls, secure election procedures, and clear, consistently applied rules so every eligible voter can vote and every lawful vote is counted.
What is the role of the federal government regarding states’ rights, and are there currently any areas where you believe there is an imbalance?
Our Founders intentionally created a federal government with limited, enumerated powers and reserved other powers to the states and the people. I believe that balance has shifted too far toward Washington through regulations, mandates, executive actions, and funding requirements. North Dakota should retain meaningful authority over education, healthcare, energy, land use and natural resources, while working constructively with the federal government within its constitutional role.
Biographical Information
Campaign Email
stacyheidenreichd41@gmail.com
Campaign Phone Number
701-866-7494
What are your top priorities?
1. Affordable housing - for the renter, first-time home buyer or needing to find a bigger house for a growing family.
2. Sustainable daycare - daycare is also a challenging expense for families. Daycare costs are contributing to parents leaving the workforce or families deciding when, and if, they will expand their family.
3. Individual rights - government overreach should not dictate who people can marry, what books are accessible or how medical decisions are made.
How would you ensure that North Dakotans’ healthcare costs are affordable?
Keeping healthcare costs affordable will require a combination of leveraging state programs and adopting policy-level reforms. I will support Medicaid expansion to offer health care security for qualifying lower-income adults. I will also work to ensure programs, such as CHIP, remain accessible to those who need it. It's critical to keep tabs on expenses and not just income when qualifying applicants.
How would you address the housing needs of the state?
I will advocate for more state funding to support vulnerable communities, such as low-income families, seniors on limited incomes and evicted renters who have earned a second chance at renting. I will also support incentives and state funding to boost more housing options - increased single-family homes, rental options and revitalizing older neighborhoods and properties.
What is your position on allowing public funds to be directed to non-public education?
Public funds should remain with public education. Diverting funds to private schools will have a negative impact on rural public schools that serve as vital economic and social anchors. Public schools guarantee universal access, with accountability through elected boards and transparent state audits. Keeping public funds in public systems guarantees that taxpayer money is managed transparently and is answerable to the community.
What are your views on the current voting methods and access to voting in North Dakota?
I believe North Dakota has strong, accessible voting methods. Early voting and absentee options support busy schedules and working families, while no voter registration and voter ID requirements help reduce barriers and keep the process simple for our communities.
What is the role of the federal government regarding states’ rights, and are there currently any areas where you believe there is an imbalance?
In North Dakota, I believe we’ve maintained a strong and practical balance between federal guidance and state authority. I support preserving our ability to make state-level decisions on how federal funding is used, how our schools operate, and how we provide public safety based on our communities’ needs. Maintaining that balance is critical, and I will continue to advocate for North Dakota’s ability to make decisions that best serve our people.
Biographical Information
Website
http://slaglefornorthdakota.com
Campaign Email
richslagle@gmail.com
Campaign Phone Number
2187318282
What are your top priorities?
1. Public safety for the residents of District 41. I believe the perception and sense of safety has decreased over the past decade and I'll work with local elected officials to ensure that it is a major focus
2. Lower property taxes and lower specials. Our local governmental entities need to be wise in how they spend their monies and how they tax
3. Our education system needs to return to the basics and increased STEM classes along with ensuring parental input and oversight
How would you ensure that North Dakotans’ healthcare costs are affordable?
1. Continue to ensure that pharmaceutical costs are reduced and oversight is maintained
2. Encourage more participation in HSAs for employees
3. Further support and enhance requirements for insurance companies' prior authorization decisions to be timely and responsive as well as ensure that patient co-pays are reflected in their out of pocket obligations
How would you address the housing needs of the state?
1. Look to continue encouraging developers to look at "in-fill" parcels for homes that are affordable
2. Offer first time buyers additional assistance from low interest/zero interest loans
3. With the increase in aging, our senior living options will need to increase and would look to work with many of the assisted living companies to determine options for increased availability and affordability
What is your position on allowing public funds to be directed to non-public education?
1. I believe there is a "middle ground" that can be arrived at with some type of voucher program that allows parents to choose a non-public option but keeps the majority of the state funding going to the local school district.
What are your views on the current voting methods and access to voting in North Dakota?
I believe the current methods are working as desired and would not recommend any additional changes
What is the role of the federal government regarding states’ rights, and are there currently any areas where you believe there is an imbalance?
I am very much in favor of more states rights and less oversight from Washington DC
Our leaders in our state capital, our local county and city halls and our school board members know the most when looking at what's best for our citizens and their families
Biographical Information
Endorsements
314 Action Fund for STEM candidates and ND AFL-CIO
Campaign Email
DrTforND41@gmail.com
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/DrTforND41
Instagram
http://www.instagram.com/DrTforND41
Campaign Phone Number
7013062623
What are your top priorities?
As a pediatrician my priority is healthy kids and communities.
1. Use common sense and science to prevent disease and injuries
2. Reduce barriers to mental health care and prevent suicide
3. Prioritize public education so that our teachers and students have what they need to succeed, including universal school meals.
4. Invest in a healthy economy so the next generation can enter the work force, learn a trade or go to college and start a family with affordable housing and childcare.
How would you ensure that North Dakotans’ healthcare costs are affordable?
I would protect and expand Medicare and CHIP funding. Increase access to healthcare through recruiting and retaining North Dakotans to work in our state. Enhancing preventative primary care to reduce the burden of chronic diseases is an investment that pays off in the long run. And we need to protect our rural critical access hospitals and local clinics.
How would you address the housing needs of the state?
Affordable housing is a key to growing the economy, recruiting and retaining the next generation of North Dakotans. Supporting low income housing tax credits, building public and private partnerships to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing, and encouraging more multi-unit housing in range of 2-9 households per unit.
What is your position on allowing public funds to be directed to non-public education?
Public money should be spent on public education. We all benefit from public education like we all benefit from public fire and police departments. Families can certainly choose a private option for education, just like they could theoretically choose a private option for fire protection or home security. North Dakotans should not have to subsidize someone choosing a private fire or police department at the expense of the public good, just like they shouldn't for private education.
What are your views on the current voting methods and access to voting in North Dakota?
Voting is our most fundamental right as an American. North Dakota's current system without pre-registration decreases barriers to voting. Early voting (in-person or via mail) also allows our busy families or workers who don't work 9-5 or those who can't easily get time off to vote, the opportunity to participate in democracy.
What is the role of the federal government regarding states’ rights, and are there currently any areas where you believe there is an imbalance?
To quote the Declaration of Independence, there are "certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". Exercising states' right should not infringe on our universal rights as Americans. I'll share a personal example. When my parents were married in 1966 some states viewed their interracial marriage as illegal. To me, this is a clear instance from our recent past of an unjust imbalance between states' rights and constitutional rights.