Issue spotlight: Where North Dakota US House candidates stand on the Iran war

April 27, 2026

From the left: U.S. Rep Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., Republican U.S. House candidate Alex Balazs and Democratic-NPL U.S. House candidate Trygve Hammer. (Photos courtesy of the candidates)

Republicans competing for North Dakota’s sole U.S. House seat support President Donald Trump’s war in Iran while a Democratic challenger says Congress should have to authorize the military action…

Democratic-NPL U.S. House candidate Trygve Hammer, meanwhile, said he would have voted in favor of resolutions to limit Trump’s war powers, if he were a member of Congress.

“Congress is supposed to have a say in these things,” Hammer said.

Hammer, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was deployed to Iraq as a Marine infantry officer and forward air controller in 2003 and retired seven years later with the rank of major. His son and son-in-law are serving on active duty in the Navy alongside another son-in-law who is serving on active duty in the Coast Guard.

“Having been through the conflict in Iraq, it makes me more hesitant to send other people and other people’s kids into harm’s way,” he said. 

The U.S. and Israeli militaries have caused a lot of damage in Iran through their air strike campaign, Hammer said, and he’s starting to worry about who’s going to rebuild Iran and what that process will look like.

“Are we going to be there forever, escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz?” he asked. “That’s a big expense.”

Hammer said he worries that any boots on the ground at this point would make U.S. soldiers a target.

“You saw how hard it was to get boots off the ground in Afghanistan, in Iraq,” he said. 

North Dakotans should be wary of the economic ripple effects of the Iran war through increased transportation and other costs, he said. Higher prices for fertilizer and fuel will take a lot longer to return to pre-war levels than the conflict itself, he said.