Nicole Poolman, Bismarck

Jessica Bell, Beulah

Julie Fedorchak, Mandan

Judy Lee, Fargo,

Karen Krebsbach, Minot

Michelle Strinden, Fargo

Emily O’Brien, Grand Forks

Karen Karls, Bismarck

Dori Hauck, Hebron

One of the most frustrating aspects of modern-day politics is the creation of narratives with little basis in fact. Unfortunately, we have watched candidate Cara Mund fall into this disappointing political pattern.

Ms. Mund portrays herself as a groundbreaker — the first North Dakota woman to seek office in Washington, DC. She is not the first, but that hasn’t changed her narrative. She and her supporters have characterized the Republican Party as one controlled by old, white men with no respect or place for women. To imply that women have no role — as Ms. Mund and her supporters have asserted — not only disparages our colleague Kelly Armstrong, it also ignores the contributions and achievements of our 110 combined years of public service to the people of North Dakota, as well as the contributions of the many women who came before us. We are committee chairs, appropriators, and statewide office holders. We have advanced countless pieces of legislation supporting education, human services, agriculture, and energy. We are not victims but effective policymakers and leaders in our state.

Ms. Mund’s narrative also accuses republicans of name-calling. To be clear, we have simply referred to her as the democratic candidate. She may find this an offensive term, but it is a characterization based in fact. The Democratic Party pushed out their more conservative candidate for Ms. Mund, and leading democrats across the state are campaigning and fundraising for her. She has endorsed both the Paris climate accord and the democratic backed, 773-billion-dollar Inflation Reduction Act, which does nothing to reduce our current inflation rates and passed with exclusively democratic support.

All of these facts combine to create important questions about Ms. Mund’s ability to effectively serve as North Dakota’s lone representative in Congress. If she truly refuses to caucus with either party, how does she intend to serve without committee assignments and without a mechanism to introduce legislation? Will she continue to support extensive government spending? What other democratic policies does she plan to endorse? North Dakotans deserve answers to these important questions. Asking them does not make us name-callers; it makes us state leaders who value being clear about where we stand and specific about how we will serve.

We hope Ms. Mund will drop her false narratives and begin to do the same.