This year began as of the year of the Republican primary presidential debate. There were 18 debates before Jan. 1, and nine more before the party decided Willard "Mitt" Romney was the presumptive nominee in late spring.
Measure 2, a measure written by Empower the Taxpayer, and out-of-state group, picked up controversy and vocal supporters, as well as vocal critics.
North Dakota voters decided it wasn't time to remove property taxes and voted Measure 2 down on June 12.
The General Election in November saw North Dakota electing its first female member to U.S. Congress when Democrat Heidi Heitkamp squeezed out a victory over U.S. Rep. Rick Berg, R-N.D., for retiring Sen. Kent Conrad's, D-N.D., U.S. Senate seat.
Gov. Jack Dalrymple, who assumed his seat when Sen. John Hoeven left Bismarck for Washington, D.C., won his first full term as governor, but not without controversy. A group of Dunn County voters brought a petition saying contributions to his gubernatorial campaign by oil companies could be seen as bribery because Dalrymple also sits on the Industrial Commission, which regulates the oil industry.
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The General Election also saw North Dakotans debating over two controversial measures.
Measure 4 called for a ban of smoking in all public places, including bars. North Dakota voters wanted clean air, even when consuming alcohol.
Measure 5 asked North Dakotans if they wanted to make animal abuse a Class C felony, rather than a Class A misdemeanor. They voted that down.
Locally, District 36 made some changes to their North Dakota Legislature representation. Rep. Mike Schatz, R-New England, kept his seat in the House and will be joined by fellow Republicans Rep. Alan Fehr and Sen. Kelly Armstrong in Bismarck beginning Jan. 8.
Editor's Note: This story is the second in a series of The Dickinson Press' top 10 stories of the year. Previously on the list was:
10: Controversy with Stark Co. Sheriff Clarence Tuhy
