"I'm a lifelong North Dakotan," Greg Vetter told us on this episode of Plain Talk. "My ancestors moved here in 1888. The entire lineage since then have been North Dakota raised, and we've all lived here."

"This is home," he said, "and I want to be part of taking care of our home."

Vetter is a first-time candidate running for the North Dakota House of Representatives in District 7 alongside Steve Sauter, another newcomer who also joined us on this episode, and incumbent Sen. Michelle Axtman. They're facing off against a slate of populist challengers. Former lawmaker Rick Becker and Gaylynn Becker (no relation) are seeking seats in the House, while Jerri Hopfauf is running for the Senate.

This will be a battleground race in the ongoing schism in the Republican party between traditional conservatives and the populists.

Vetter and Sauter told us that they plan to win over voters by focusing on public service over culture war issues.

"I'm a big believer in you give twice as much as you get, the rest will take care of your care of itself," Sauter said. "And I just think the state, understanding how unique North Dakota is and what makes us specia, I want to be able to continue that and be part of that, continuing that in the future for such an amazing state."

They also said they plan to eschew the negative campaign tactics that were common from populist challengers in recent cycles.

"I've built a career on building trusted relationships, collaborating with people, treating them in a dignified, respectful manner," he said, adding that manners -- simple things like saying "thank you" and "I'm sorry" -- are important. "If those things don't resonate with the people of North Dakota anymore, and they choose not to elect me, I'm absolutely comfortable with that."

Also on this episode, guest co-host Jamie Selzler and I discuss the threat AI poses to political discourse, U.S. House candidate Alex Balazs's odd social media post, and Doug Burgum's disappointing turn away from who he was as governor now that he's serving in President Donald Trump's cabinet.

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