Coachman approved as independent governor candidate for November ballot

Michael Coachman (Courtesy of the candidate)

Michael Coachman, a U.S. Air Force veteran and repeat candidate for state office, will appear on the November ballot as an independent candidate for governor.

The Secretary of State’s Office notified Coachman he was approved for the ballot in a July 15 letter.

The Larimore resident is running alongside Lydia Gessele of Chaseley, who is chair of the sponsoring committee for a proposed ballot measure that would change how elections are conducted in North Dakota . The measure, which also is supported by Coachman, will not be on the November ballot but could be on the ballot in 2026 if signatures are submitted by September.

Coachman will be up against Republican nominee U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong and Democratic nominee Merrill Piepkorn, a state senator from Fargo.

Coachman, whose politics lean far-right, previously ran for governor as a Republican in 2020, losing to Burgum in the primary. In that race, he earned about 10% of the vote. He also unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor in 2012 and 2016, and for secretary of state in 2018.

“As Governor I will change the focus of North Dakota’s political objectives by becoming a state focused on restoring individual liberties in all aspects of life, family and business for the citizens of North Dakota,” Coachman said in a February statement announcing his candidacy.

A list of his plans for office featured in the announcement included:

• Repealing two or three laws for every law signed, and preventing any new legislation from being longer than three pages.
• Banning residents of foreign countries from owning land in North Dakota.
• Replacing property and state income tax with one “flat” tax.