GRAND FORKS — Three Democrats on Tuesday earned the right to represent Grand Forks’ District 43 in the state Legislature.
Mary Adams, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Sen. Jeff Barta, 54.71% to 45.17%, respectively. Unofficially, Adams received 2,167 votes compared to Barta’s 1,789.
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In the House race, Democrats Lukas Maughan and Tyler York earned 28.88% and 26.97% of the votes, respectively. Republican challengers Jill Chandler and Mike Holmes finished with 22.22% and 21.86%, respectively.
There were no incumbents in the House race. The seats came open when Republican Eric Murphy lost in the June primary and Democrat incumbent Zac Ista chose not to run for reelection.
The Senate race, however, featured two candidates with legislative experience. Barta just finished his first term in the Legislature, while Adams is a former member of the House, having served from 2019 through 2022.
“People were ready for a change. Bismarck doesn’t do anything and we’ve spent the past three sessions doing nothing for school lunches. People need housing and childcare. I just want to try and make (North Dakota) a great place to live,” she said.
Prior to the election, Adams said she sees edu...