One subject of criticism often levied at Rick Becker, a Bismarck plastic surgeon and businessman turned contrarian legislator, is the gonzo heel turn he took in his approach after the election of former President Donald Trump.

That particular election year was historic for a number of reasons, but the most surprising one was how a faded reality TV star was able to make himself a singularity for the world’s attentions. Whether it was positive or negative, derision or adulation, dismay or delight, he soaked it all up and pulled off what may be the greatest political upset in history. It is no surprise that the upset hasn’t stopped even after he’s left office.

Many other candidates would adopt whatever manner or affectation they figured would make them hated fixtures on any number of the “Trump Deranged” networks or platforms, ensuring them a national audience, and social media cache if they were able to win and take office.

Becker has been a member of the legislature since 2013, but my personal frame of reference for him was as the owner of one of my favorite bars in Bismarck, the speakeasy 510.2. It’s one of the few places in the state one can find a bottle of 20-year-old Pappy van Winkle bourbon, but that’s beside the point.

Becker definitely shifted his posturing from that of a principled libertarian conservative to a flame belching culture warrior, but this shift hasn’t quite replicated Trump’s results. His Bastiat Caucus accomplishes little beyond serving as the resident gadflies of the Republican supermajority, although Becker did come within sniffing distance of the venerable Sen. John Hoeven at the GOP convention.

Despite coming up short, and providing assurances that he would respect the wishes of the members of his party and not run in the Primary, Becker was able to meet the deadline to get his name on the ballot in November as an independent.

2022 apparently is the year for them, not that either Becker or Cara Mund are really much of an alternative from the two-party binary. Though odds are that the incumbent will win out in both races, between Becker and Mund these are the first real swipes that the ND-GOP have taken in recent memory.

The Dem-NPL were so bought in on the candidacy for Mund, they muscled their own nominee for the House out of the way to avoid a three-way race, and the splitting of their voter base. The N.D. GOP doesn’t have that luxury in the Senate race, as Becker and his supporters fan the flames of populist revolt within western strongholds, which could create a real problem if enough of the electorate are compelled to go the “non-partisan” route.

The specific notion that Becker is utilizing from the Trump playbook is harnessing upset against the perceived political elite of his former party. This sentiment is growing more and more common all over the world, as trust is traded for skepticism and in some cases genuine animus against institutions and individuals who are a part of them.

In keeping with this, in a recent fundraising email Becker cast aspersions on the convention results, claiming “Hoeven’s Swamp buddies stole the nomination from our grassroots army.” The spurious nature of his allegations notwithstanding, what may amount to cynical politicking on his part may provide the necessary edge Becker needs to win the war of perception being waged before we all enter votes into the ballot box.

If ever there was an opportunity for Becker to muscle out Hoeven, it probably could only be now. Expectations for a low voter turnout could be undone by highly activated single-issue voters, or by interest in the two measures concerning term limits and recreational marijuana legalization. That isn’t to say that the Dem-NPL candidate Katrina Christiansen couldn’t benefit from Becker cannibalizing the GOP base and eke out a major upset herself, riding the wave of post-Dobbs revanchism.

But that’s the gamble that Becker is making with his “Renegade Run;” he can either play the spoiler, or revel in some schadenfreude by being an electoral Monkeywrench. However, the reality is that no matter how everything shakes out, when the dust settles, he’ll be out in the cold.

At least he’ll have Pappy to keep him company.