North Dakota Dem-NP Chair Adam Goldwyn on the Strategy to Boost North Dakota Democrats in 2026
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Happy Wednesday, Democrats!
Adam Goldwyn serves as Chair of the North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party (ND Dem-NPL). The ND Dem-NPL is the North Dakota affiliate of the Democratic Party of the United States. The organization was created through the merging of two parties. Over the last decade, Chair Goldwyn has held a series of party leadership roles and now oversees statewide organizing, candidate recruitment, and strategic planning for the Dem–NPL.
In late 2025, North Dakota began receiving $22,500 a month from the DNC under the newly launched State Partnership Program (SPP) announced by DNC Chair Ken Martin and ASDC President Jane Kleeb. These funds allowed North Dakota to further invest in local campaigns to get Democrats elected and build infrastructure leading up to the 2026 midterms. Please continue reading to hear about Chair Goldwyn’s path to North Dakota, recent successes, and what’s in store for the state in 2026!
Maya S: Tell us about yourself, your background, and what led you to become Chair of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL.
Chair Goldwyn: I came to North Dakota in January 2014 as an assistant professor of English at North Dakota State University, with no intention of getting involved in politics. Having grown up in Portland and lived in Los Angeles and New York, three heavily Democratic cities, I had always assumed politics was something other people handled.
North Dakota changed that. In one of the most Republican-leaning states in the country, I saw how few Democratic legislators we had and how hard they worked. I felt that if they were willing to work that hard for me, I should be willing to work just as hard for them. I told myself, I don’t care if I have no idea how to do politics; I can’t just sit on the sidelines. I attended a district meeting one Thursday, asked how I could help, and despite having no political experience, I was elected district chair that same night. Over the next 10 years, I served in additional roles, eventually being elected State Party Chair three years ago.
My biggest philosophical shift since becoming chair is recognizing that politics is not someone else’s responsibility. As DNC Chair Martin often says, “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.” In North Dakota, the State Party Chair is a volunteer role, and like every volunteer, the reward is the work itself and the people you meet along the way.
Goldwyn addresses the Cass County Democrats, Fargo, Feb 22, 2025
Maya S: Why are investments in state parties so essential? How does the ND Dem-NPL work with the DNC, and what impact have the investments made by the DNC had on your state party?
Chair Goldwyn: The DNC is our single largest donor, providing nearly half of our annual funding. That support is essential to our operations. It is hard to overstate the importance of those investments for us at the ND Dem-NPL. The State Party Victory Fund (SPVF) and State Partnership Program (SPP) have been especially important in helping us transition to a year‑round organizing model, a priority for both the Dem-NPL and the DNC.
Our goal is to hire three half‑time organizers across the state. Thanks to these investments, we have already hired one organizer based in Minot, an area that once elected Democrats and where we have a strong activist community. Our next priorities are hiring organizers in Grand Forks and either Bismarck or Fargo. These organizers will also be responsible for organizing the surrounding rural areas.
We are also proud of our contributions back to the national Party. Our DNC Committeeman, Jamie Selzler, serves on the Rules and Bylaws Committee, a dream come true for him.
Goldwyn door-knocking with his wife and daughter, Fargo, July 24, 2024
What are the SPVF and SPP Programs?
The State Party Victory Fund (SPVF) and the State Partnership Program (SPP) are two of the DNC’s core investment streams that support state parties across the country. These programs provide sustained, year‑round funding that allows state parties to build long‑term organizing programs, hire staff, and support candidates up and down the ballot.
Under the new SPP agreement, each state party will receive a baseline of $17,500 per month, marking a $5,000 monthly increase over the previous agreement. Additionally, Republican-controlled states will receive an extra $5,000 per month through the DNC’s Red State Fund, bringing their total to $22,500 every month. Altogether, this historic investment amounts to more than $1 million in monthly transfers from the DNC to Democratic state parties.
SPVF is a joint direct mail and email fundraising program between the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and all 50 state Democratic parties. The program helps support the state parties financially by fundraising for each state in order to achieve our shared goal of electing Democrats across the nation.
Goldwyn with his fellow State Party Chairs at the DNC Convention, Chicago, August 21, 2024
Maya S: What is the current political landscape in North Dakota, and how can Democrats continue strengthening their base in red states like ND?
Chair Goldwyn: Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris here by more than 30 points, his fourth‑highest margin in the country, so we’re not under any illusions about what we’re up against. However, since the 2024 election, we have seen a noticeable shift. Attendance at Dem-NPL events across the state has doubled, and fundraising, volunteer hours, and other indicators of party strength are all increasing.
We see real opportunities in areas that have historically elected Democrats. Grand Forks, home to the University of North Dakota and House Minority Leader Zac Ista, is one example.
Our Bismarck–Mandan and Minot-area Democrats also report that they will have full slates of candidates for 2026, and we have seen strong recruiting in tribal communities, where all three Native American incumbents plan to run again.
Goldwyn casts North Dakota’s votes for Kamala Harris at the DNC Convention, Chicago, August 20, 2024
Maya S: What were some of the biggest accomplishments you saw in 2024 and 2025?
Chair Goldwyn: Our biggest accomplishment in 2025 was holding steady in a challenging national environment. In a year when many counties across the country shifted to the right, and in a state where Trump won by a large margin, we lost one House incumbent, flipped one Senate seat, and returned all other incumbents to Bismarck.
We also ran strong, high‑visibility campaigns that energized Democrats statewide. Retired Marine, oil worker, and rural school bus driver Trygve Hammer, along with engineering professor Katrina Christiansen, held Republicans accountable and gave voters meaningful choices. They advocated for working people, schoolchildren, union members, family farmers, and North Dakotans who had been ignored by their Republican representatives in Washington.
In 2022, we contested fewer than half the seats on the ballot. In 2024, we reestablished ourselves as a true statewide party.
Goldwyn hosts a lunch gathering with DNC Vice-Chair Malcolm Kenyatta, Fargo, August 23, 2025
Maya S: What is your vision for 2026?
Chair Goldwyn: In 2026, we plan to run a candidate in every legislative seat, something that has not happened in North Dakota since 2008. As Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, one of our great legislators, often says, “Lightning always strikes, but you never know where.” We believe we will hold our core in Fargo, grow in Grand Forks and in tribal communities, and identify additional districts across the state where Democrats can win.
Recruitment is already stronger than in previous cycles. Rep. Josh Boschee’s run for mayor of Fargo, a technically nonpartisan race, could make him its first openly gay mayor.
I have personally donated to several candidates who have already declared, and I have knocked nearly 100 doors, no small feat when the weather was below zero all three nights! I have traveled to Bismarck, Minot, Williston, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Valley City, and Fargo, and I will continue traveling throughout the early months of the cycle to recruit candidates and attend nominating conventions.
Goldwyn addresses the North Dakota Boys State Convention, Wahpeton, June 9, 2025
Maya S: Why should people donate to state parties and the DNC right now?
Chair Goldwyn: I always like to say that political donations are one of the most effective ways to translate values into action. Donating to state parties and the DNC is where you get the most bang for your buck in doing that.
Here in North Dakota, for instance, we are especially proud of our Native American delegation: three House members and one Senator, all but one up for reelection. They represent some of the poorest regions in the state. Fundraising in areas with high poverty rates like in Rep. Colette Brown’s and Rep. Jayme Davis’s districts is extremely difficult. In 2022, Rep. Davis raised less than $5,000, and Rep. Brown did not meet the reporting threshold.
Despite these challenges, these legislators deliver significant results. Rep. Davis helped enact North Dakota’s Feather Alert Law, which alerts the public when Native American youth go missing, part of a broader Dem–NPL effort to address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) in the state.
These are the races where DNC support is so critical: In communities with low campaign costs, modest investments that would barely even register in some parts of the country can be absolutely transformative for Native communities and for Democratic politics across the state.
Learn More About the North Dakota Democratic–NPL and Get Involved
To learn more about the work of the North Dakota Democratic–NPL, including upcoming events, candidate information, and opportunities to get involved, visit the party’s official website at demnpl.com.
You can also follow the Dem-NPL on Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter), for updates on organizing efforts, legislative priorities, and statewide initiatives throughout the 2026 cycle.
We plan to feature more state party chairs and party leaders in 2026. Let us know in the comments who you’d like to hear from in the coming months!
Thank you,
Maya
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The transition from zero political experince to state chair is wild but also kind of the perfect origin story for red-state organizing. That bit about Native American legislators raising under $5k and still delivering transformative policy like the Feather Alert Law really undercuts the conventional wisdom that money equals impact in every context. The year-round organizer model funded by the SPP sounds way more sustainable than the boom-bust cycle most stateparties operate under, where you hire for six months then fire everyone after the election and wonder why institutional knowlege evaporates.
Really helpful to read about what's happening in North Dakota as a result of the investments by the DNC. In 2026, I will be a monthly donor!