Kelly Armstrong
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Dakota's at-large district
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byKevin Cramer
Chair of the North Dakota Republican Party
In office
June 6, 2015 – February 20, 2018
Preceded byRobert Harms
Succeeded byRick Berg
Member of the North Dakota Senate
from the 36th district
In office
December 1, 2012 – November 8, 2018
Preceded byGeorge Nodland
Succeeded byJay Elkin
Personal details
Born
Kelly Michael Armstrong

(1976-10-08) October 8, 1976
Dickinson, North Dakota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Kjersti Høiby
​
(m. 2004)​
Children2
EducationUniversity of North Dakota (BA, JD)
WebsiteHouse website

Kelly Michael Armstrong (born October 8, 1976)[1][2] is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for North Dakota's at-large congressional district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the North Dakota state senator from the 36th district from 2012 to 2018 and chair of the North Dakota Republican Party from 2015 until 2018.

Early life and education

Armstrong graduated from Dickinson High School in 1995. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of North Dakota in 2001 and a Juris Doctor from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 2003, after spending his first year of law school at the College of William & Mary.[3] He is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

Career

Armstrong was a partner at Reichert Armstrong, with offices in Grand Forks and Dickinson, before his Congressional election. He served as the North Dakota State Senator from the 36th district from 2013 to 2018[4] and chaired the North Dakota Republican Party from 2015 to 2018.[5]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

In February 2018, Armstrong announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives.[6] He was endorsed by the North Dakota Republican Party at its state party convention in April 2018.[7] Armstrong won the November 6 election with 60.2% of the vote.[8] He resigned his seat in the North Dakota Legislature on November 7 and took office in Congress in January 2019, replacing Kevin Cramer, who was elected to the United States Senate.

2020

Armstrong ran for reelection and won on November 3, with 68.96% of the vote.[9]

2022

Armstrong won reelection on November 8, receiving 62.2% of the vote.[10]

Tenure

Armstrong was one of a coalition of seven Republicans who did not support their colleagues' efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021. These seven signed a letter that, while giving credence to election fraud allegations made by President Donald Trump, said Congress did not have the authority to influence the election's outcome.[11]

On July 19, 2022, Armstrong and 46 other Republican representatives voted for the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify the right to same-sex marriage in federal law.[12]

In 2022, Armstrong was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.[13][14]

After the NDGOP removed its code of conduct in October, Armstrong was nearly censured however remained unscathed. Current NDGOP chairwoman Sandi Sanford has been open about her dislike for Armstrong.[15] This all was preceded by former President Donald Trump declaring Armstrong be “primaried” after voting with democrats to censure representative Adam Schiff.

Armstrong voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[16][17]

During November 2023, Armstrong voted against the censuring of Democratic representative Rashida Tlaib on the grounds of antisemitism after her comments against Israel.[18] Later in the month, Armstrong was picked to fill the empty seat in the House judiciary committee left when member Mike Johnson was elected Speaker of the House, which was followed by his re-election announcement.[19][20]

In December 2023, Armstrong joined 105 house republicans in expelling George Santos on a House ethics committee report conclusion that he had broken federal law.[21]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Electoral history

Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kelly Armstrong 37,054 56.23
Republican Tom Campbell (withdrawn) 17,692 26.85
Republican Tiffany Abentroth 5,877 8.92
Republican Paul Schaffner 5,203 7.90
Republican Write-Ins 75 0.11
Total votes 65,901 100.00
North Dakota's at-large congressional district, 2018[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kelly Armstrong 193,568 60.20% -8.93%
Democratic–NPL Mac Schneider 114,377 35.57% +11.82%
Independent Charles Tuttle 13,066 4.06% N/A
Write-in 521 0.16% N/A
Total votes 321,532 100.00% N/A
Republican hold
2020 North Dakota's at-large congressional district election[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kelly Armstrong (incumbent) 245,229 68.96%
Democratic–NPL Zach Raknerud 97,970 27.55%
Libertarian Steven Peterson 12,024 3.38%
Write-in 375 0.11%
Turnout 355,598 61.16%

References

  1. ↑ "Kelly Armstrong's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  2. ↑ "North Dakota New Members 2019". The Hill. November 15, 2018.
  3. ↑ Grandstrand, Katherine (December 20, 2012). "District 36 representation: All Kelly Armstrong wanted was to get away, but Dickinson is home". The Dickinson Press. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Senator Kelly M. Armstrong". Bismarck, North Dakota: North Dakota Legislature. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Sen. Kelly Armstrong of Dickinson elected chair of ND Republican Party". Grand Forks Herald. Forum News Service. June 6, 2015. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  6. ↑ Dura, Jack (February 22, 2018). "Armstrong joins packed House race". The Clarion-Ledger.
  7. ↑ Inc., Midwest Communications. "Armstrong wins GOP House endorsement". The Mighty 790 KFGO. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. ↑ Wasserman, David; Flinn, Ally (November 7, 2018). "2018 House Popular Vote Tracker". Cook Political Report. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  9. ↑ "OFFICIAL (WITHOUT RECOUNTS) 2020 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS: Representative in Congress". North Dakota Election Officials. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Unofficial 2022 General Election Results". North Dakota Secretary of State. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  11. ↑ Budryk, Zack (January 3, 2021). "Coalition of 7 conservative House Republicans says they won't challenge election results". The Hill. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  12. ↑ Schnell, Mychael (July 19, 2022). "These are the 47 House Republicans who voted for a bill protecting marriage equality". The Hill. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  13. ↑ "House passes antitrust bill that hikes M&A fees as larger efforts targeting tech have stalled". CNBC. September 29, 2022.
  14. ↑ "H.R. 3843: Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022 -- House Vote #460 -- Sep 29, 2022".
  15. ↑ https://www.inforum.com/opinion/columns/port-ndgop-rids-itself-of-code-of-conduct-nearly-censures-rep-kelly-armstrong
  16. ↑ Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  17. ↑ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (October 25, 2023). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved October 30, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ Gick, Justin (November 5, 2023). "Rep. Kelly Armstrong one of 23 Republicans voting not to censure Rep. Tlaib on Israel comments". www.kfyrtv.com.
  19. ↑ Janke, Ryan. "Armstrong to fill seat vacated by new U.S. Speaker of the House, announces re-election".
  20. ↑ "Rep. Kelly Armstrong Recommended To Take Speaker Johnson's Judiciary Seat". November 14, 2023.
  21. ↑ Sweeney, Pat. "Armstrong votes for, Fischbach votes against ousting Santos".
  22. ↑ "Homepage of Republican Governance Group". Republican Governance Group. December 14, 2019.
  23. ↑ "Membership". Republican Study Committee. December 6, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  24. ↑ Johnson, Cheryl L. (February 28, 2019). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 2018". Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Statewide Election Results". North Dakota Secretary of State. November 12, 2020.
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