FARGO, N.D. (AP) - As Republican activists descend on this city for their three-day convention, they are greeted by long-standing billboards with simple messages such as “Be Nice,” ’’Smile,” and “Be Polite.”
So how does a state that unabashedly promotes positive feelings and forbids retail sales before noon on Sunday react to Donald Trump’s coarse language and big-city pompous personality?
Surprisingly well, some say.
“I like him,” said Ralph Muecke, a 71-year-old farmer from Gladstone who goes to church every Sunday.
“I don’t excuse some of the things he says and how he says them but he has a lot of pluses that outweigh the minuses,” said Muecke, wearing one of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” ball caps. “I feel Trump is the only hope we have to straighten this country out.”
Republicans expect their three-day state convention that began Friday to be one of the GOP’s best-attended gatherings. Most are focused on the GOP’s marquee race, a three-way contest for the party’s endorsement to replace Gov. Jack Dalrymple, who is not seeking re-election. Also of much interest among convention-goers in this red state will be the selection of 25 of the 28 national delegates who likely will play a role in choosing the Republican presidential nominee.
North Dakota’s delegates are not bound to any candidate and are “free to vote their conscience on all balloting,” party rules say.
Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer said he organized a non-binding straw poll earlier this year that found almost 40 percent of almost 5,000 North Dakota residents surveyed said they preferred Trump at Republican presidential candidate. Cramer has said the poll would influence his choice for president. He told The Associated Press on Friday that he is “leaning” toward supporting Trump.
The state’s residents, who often adhere to the “North Dakota Nice” mentality, may see Trump’s pompous personality as a “limiting factor,” Cramer said. Others, however, admire his “authenticity and that has given him a bit of grace with a lot of people.”
Some GOP faithful in North Dakota liken Trump’s ego to a bug zapper and are repelled by it.
State Auditor Robert Peterson, a Republican who is not seeking a sixth term, called Trump a bully “and the biggest one we’ve ever seen. He drives the debate right down to the gutter. That doesn’t sit well with North Dakotans and shouldn’t sit well with anyone.”
Jim Poolman, a former GOP legislator and state insurance commissioner from Bismarck, said it’s not so much Trump’s politics but his personality that doesn’t sit well with people in North Dakota, who prefer a more presidential bearing.
“His tone is the problem,” Poolman said. “People don’t like irreverence. I think Ted Cruz probably plays better here,” he said.
Cruz is the convention’s keynote speaker on Saturday. Former presidential hopeful Ben Carson is speaking Sunday, on Trump’s behalf.
Several Republican lawmakers surveyed during the first day of the convention said they preferred Ohio Gov. John Kasich for president, though they expressed little hope he would win the GOP endorsement.
“It would take several Hail Mary passes in a row for him to even have a chance,” said state Sen. Tim Flakoll, a Republican from Fargo.
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