An underdog in the race for North Dakota governor, Michael Coachman is running because he believes someone needs to.

Disturbed by what he sees as cronyism and corruption in government, he said he wants to bring transparency and return government back to the people.

“You can either complain about a problem or be part of the solution. Right now, I want to be part of the solution. I want to see that people are represented,” he said.

Coachman and his lieutenant governor choice, Joel Hylden, of Park River, are challenging Gov. Doug Burgum and Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford for the Republican spot on the general election ballot in November. Burgum is a businessman and technology entrepreneur who helped build Great Plains Software into a North Dakota success story and later founded Kilbourne Group, a company committed to creating vibrant downtowns, and co-founded Arthur Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in software companies.

Burgum ran for governor in 2016 on a platform of diversifying the economy, reinventing government, improving North Dakota’s main streets and ensuring North Dakota is ready to meet the future. His campaign states he is running for re-election to build on that foundation set with Sanford, First Lady Kathryn Burgum and his administration.

“Gov. Burgum and all of ‘Team ND’ are ready to lead North Dakota through the coronavirus pandemic and continue to strengthen the economy, reinvent government and invest in the future of the state,” his campaign stated.

Coachman, who served 20 years in the military, previously has been on the ballot, most recently running as an independent for Secretary of State in 2018 and as Republican lieutenant governor with governor candidate Paul Sorum in 2016.

A member of Larimore’s city council, he said he is attuned to the needs of small towns.

“The most important resources are the little towns,” Coachman said. “If you don’t have the mindset of working with little towns, the state is going to die.”

He said if elected, he would work with President Trump, who is a businessman, on developing a plan to bring businesses to small towns and Native American communities.

His COVID-19 pandemic response would have looked different from Burgum’s leadership because he would have readied the hospitals but not shut down businesses when virus cases were low, Coachman said. He said if case numbers climbed making an executive order critical, closing large chain stores that attract large gatherings and leaving the small mom-and-pop stores open would be a better strategy.

Coachman said he is concerned about conservative legislators getting ostracized and the state auditor’s hands being tied in investigating state agencies. He would work with conservatives to stop the flow of money to special interests that shouldn’t be receiving state funds, he said.

His spending plans include working with the Department of Public Instruction and legislators on meeting the needs in human services and fulfilling the state’s constitutional duty to fully fund the cost of K-12 education.

Coachman said he would have federal and state constitutional studies included in the curriculum through elementary and secondary education to establish a generation that knows when legislators aren’t following the law. Residents need to be educated to “make sure that everybody, even me, is following the law, following the Constitution,” he said. When people who know their constitutions get involved, that creates transparency, he said.

“I believe, more people want to be involved in government because they don’t like what’s happening,” he said. For instance, he has concern about the government’s contract tracing of individuals and certain COVID-19 restrictions that come with fines and jail penalties.

“This election is not about being a Republican or Democrat or independent. This primary election is about freedom against tyranny. This is about your rights,” he said. “Why I’m running is to maintain our freedom.”