523: 'There's a new pep in our step'

The emergence of Vice President Kamala Harris as the top-of-the-ticket candidate for Democrats, nationally, has created an undeniable wave of enthusiasm among our liberal friends.

North Dakota's Democrats are no different. "There's a new pep in our step," state Rep. Zac Ista told my co-host Chad Oban and I on this episode of Plain Talk.

Ista is a Democrat from Grand Forks and the House Minority Leader, and he had some very pragmatic things to say about the chances Democratic legislative candidates have on the ballot this year.

Ista pointed out that Democrats already elected to the Legislature have been punching above their weight. They have only 16 seats in the state Legislature, but saw over 50 bills sponsored by Democratic lawmakers passed.

He also praised his party's candidate recruitment efforts. Acknowledging that Democrats have struggled to fill all of the legislative races in past cycles, particularly in western North Dakota, he said his party has filled 80% of the races this cycle. Still, even if Democrats win every race they have a candidate in, they couldn't take a majority in either chamber of the Legislature.

It's not mathematically possible. "We don't have enough candidates on the ballot," Ista said, but he does see an opportunity for Democrats to make up some ground.

But that will require those candidates to get out into their communities and prove they're something more than "someone with a D in parentheses behind their name" on the ballot.

Ista also said he's opposed to a constitutional measure that would abolish property taxes, which will almost certainly be on the ballot in November. Asked why voters should trust lawmakers to address the property tax problem meaningfully, given that it's an issue that has rankled voters for decades, Ista said that while dangling "carrots" in front of local governments to inspire them to lower property tax burdens, "we have to get more serious about talking about sticks," he said, referencing possible caps on property tax increases.

Also on this episode, Oban and I talk about the controversy former President Donald Trump has created around Kamala Harris's racial background, and who Harris might choose as vice president.

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