Politics wasn’t the plan.

There’s more than one answer when people ask me why I decided to run for North Dakota’s sole U.S. House seat. The direct response is to give everyday North Dakotans a real voice in the U.S. House and to work on pragmatic solutions to real problems rather than ideological solutions to nonexistent ones. But, if you are campaigning in a way that involves more listening than talking, you discover myriad reasons to run, many problems to solve, and a lot of good, hard-working people in need of those real, pragmatic solutions. 

This was not my original plan. I did not return to North Dakota to become a politician, but I also didn’t join the Navy to become a Marine Helicopter pilot. While it’s true that my grandfather, George Hammer, was a Republican-NPL state legislator and my father was once the mayor of Velva, North Dakota, politics was never the family business. 

I did show some good political instincts early on, though. My mother noted in a journal that at age four, I pointed to Richard Nixon speaking on the television and said, “That man gives me a headache in my tummy.” Later, when my third-grade teacher asked the class if any of us knew who our two senators and our representative in Washington DC were, my hand was the only one in the air. (Yes, I was one of those kids.) “Representative Mark Andrews,” I reported, “and Senators Milton Young and Quentin Burdick.” 

My family may not have had a long heritage in politics, but there was always a tradition of service. Mom, Dad, and my younger brothers were all involved in the Velva Community Ambulance service. After I left Velva for my Navy and Marine Corps career, one of my brothers became a nurse in the Army Reserve, and another joined the North Dakota National Guard. All three of my younger brothers have been first responders of one kind or another. And while I was away, if you asked my mother what I was doing, she wouldn’t say that I was a sailor or a Marine; she would say that I was ‘in the service.’

So, the short answer to the perennial political question, “Why are you running?” is that I feel called to serve the people of North Dakota not as someone with a large bank account and all the answers but as someone who will work hard to change our current political performance art into a discussion in search of best solutions—or at least workable solutions—that benefit the people.

Our country is struggling with a variety of ills, many of which stem from our institutional myopia. Whether in the halls of Congress or kicking back in Corporate America’s c-suites, short-termism prevails. The next quarterly earnings report matters more than the mission or the employees. The next election matters more than building a better future for our children. 

Our elected officials are focused on protecting their privilege and power rather than addressing the needs of everyday Americans. Why? They are far removed from putting on steel-toed boots and working 16-hour days for their share of the oil money. They haven’t come home aching from a hard day’s work on their feet in a hospital, or a classroom, or on the jagged ballast along the railroad tracks. They’re disconnected from what it means to be a working American punching the clock, hoping to get ahead.

Congress can serve the boots-on-the-ground Americans who create the capital in our capitalist system. In fact, that’s what they are elected to do, but it requires a belief that good policy can make a positive difference in the lives of all Americans. It requires the right people in office. 

I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t believe I was one of those people. I am certainly a contrast from the deep-pocketed and well-connected candidates vying to oppose me. I don’t need deep pockets as long as I can count on the kind of grassroots support that can put us in a position to win November. You can join that grassroots effort here, and you can count on this campaign’s fidelity to service and commitment to your needs. 

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