Government & Politics North Dakota ethics survey shows respondents lack confidence in state officials | The Mighty 790 KFGO
The North Dakota Ethics Commission conducts its Feb. 18, 2026, meeting at the North Dakota State Capitol in Bismarck. Pictured from left is General Counsel Logan Carpenter, Executive Director Rebecca Binstock, Commissioner Mark Western, Chair Cynthia Lindquist, Operations Administrator Adilene Moos, Commissioner Pam Sharp, Commissioner Ron Goodman and Commissioner Jared Huibregtse. (Photo by Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)
BISMARCK, (North Dakota Monitor) – Around two-thirds of the 1,000 North Dakotans responding to a survey from the Ethics Commission said they do not have confidence state government officials act ethically.
The wide-ranging survey was completed by North Dakotans who identified themselves as residents, business owners, lobbyists, employees of advocacy groups, and elected officials. It asked for input on a variety of topics, from what their top ethical concerns with government are, what the commission should focus on, and how easy it should be to file an ethics complaint.
Half of the 26 elected officials who completed the survey said they are somewhat unconfident or very unconfident that state government officials act ethically. That lack of confidence was shared by 68% of the business owners, 63% of the government employees and 66% of all respondents.
There was broad agreement among the rest of the survey submissions that unethical actions in government are a real concern. Conflicts of interest and misuse of public office were two areas of ethical concern that were cited as the most important to respondents by a wide margin, including by most of the public employees who completed the survey.
Lobbyists were the only group that expressed confidence in elected officials’ ethical behavior, with 21 of 22 answering they are somewhat or very confident that elected officials act ethically.
The lobbyists’ responses to the survey differed from the prevailing opinion on most of the questions in the survey:
- 50% of lobbyists marked conflicts of interest a “very important” concern, no other group was less than 76%.
- 50% of lobbyists said lobbyist gifting to public officials was a “neutral” or unimportant concern, no other demographic had fewer than 77% say it was important.
- 18% of lobbyists said a revolving door between government and the private sector was a concern, far less than any other group.
When asked what the Ethics Commission should focus on, most said investigating ethics complaints and enforcing ethics laws.
Ethics complaints should be easy to file, according to 83% of the survey responses.
The majority of submissions, 77%, also said the public does not have enough information about what ethics rules exist in North Dakota.
Respondents were also invited to provide written feedback to the commission. Many of the varied responses called for the Legislature, governor and attorney general to stop hindering the Ethics Commission’s authority and work. Other responses expressed impatience with the slow pace of the Ethics Commission, created by voters in 2018, to build momentum and become effective. Still others criticized the Ethics Commission for overreaching and exceeding its authority.
Overwhelmingly, the most common open-ended response involved mentioning they no longer trust state government officials in North Dakota, citing the child sex abuse conviction of former state Sen. Ray Holmberg. Other responses cited concerns about officials’ attempts to control and restrict the Ethics Commission and the political influence of the oil and gas industry.
The survey was created and distributed by the North Dakota Ethics Commission. It was not a scientific survey conducted by a polling firm. All demographics, like lobbyist or elected official, were self-reported.
There were 1,025 submissions in total.
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