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| Turnout | 61.29% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Precinct results
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| Elections in North Dakota | ||||||||
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The2016 United States presidential election in North Dakota was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, as part of the2016 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia participated.North Dakota voters chose electors to represent them in theElectoral College via a popular vote, pitting theRepublican nominee, businessmanDonald Trump, and running mateIndiana GovernorMike Pence againstDemocratic nominee, formerSecretary of StateHillary Clinton, and her running mate VirginiaSenatorTim Kaine. North Dakota has three electoral votes in the Electoral College.[1]
On June 7, 2016, as part of theDemocratic Party presidential primaries, North Dakota voters expressed their preferences for theDemocratic nominees for president. As North Dakota does not have a voter registration system,[2] all voters could choose to participate in this caucus. Due to a disagreement about the binding of delegates between state and national party leaders, noRepublican Party primary or caucus was held. Instead, delegates were chosen at the state party convention April 1–3.[3]
Trump won the election in North Dakota with 63.0% of the vote, making it his fourth-strongest state in the 2016 election, afterWest Virginia,Wyoming, andOklahoma.[4] Clinton received 27.2% of the vote,[5] at the time the largest loss by a Democrat since Democratic nomineeJimmy Carter in1980. The state also gave North Dakota-bornLibertarian candidateGary Johnson his second-best showing with 6.2% of the vote, only behind the 9.3% vote share that he received in his home state ofNew Mexico.
North Dakota shifted rightward by 16.11%, marking the strongest rightward shift made by any state in 2016. However, in terms of individual electoral votes,Maine's 2nd congressional district saw a stronger rightward shift of 18.85%. This highlighted the strong rightward shift among whiteworking class voters, particularly inrural areas inNorthern states.[6]
Three candidates appeared on the Democratic presidential primary ballot:
| North Dakota Democratic caucuses, June 7, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | District delegates | State delegates | |||
| Count | Percentage | Pledged | Unpledged | Total | |
| Bernie Sanders | 253 | 64.21% | 13 | 1 | 14 |
| Hillary Clinton | 101 | 25.63% | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Uncommitted | 40 | 10.15% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 394 | 100% | 18 | 5 | 23 |
| Source:[7] | |||||
TheNorth Dakota Republican Party did not hold a presidential preference caucus or primary, but instead selected 28 Republican National Convention delegates unpledged to any particular candidate at the state party convention, which was held April 1–3, 2016.[3] A generally pro-Cruz slate of delegates was elected to the convention.[8] Cruz had the support of 14 delegates before he dropped out of the race. Three of them switched to Trump on May 27 along with all 13 of the uncommitted delegates giving Trump the majority of commitments and the support of 17 delegates (Trump had the support of 1 delegate before Cruz dropped out).
| Candidate | Actual delegate count | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bound | Unbound | Total | |||
| Donald Trump | 0 | 17 | 17 | ||
| Ted Cruz | 0 | 11 | 11 | ||
| John Kasich | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| (available) | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Unprojected delegates: | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total: | 0 | 28 | 28 | ||
| Source:The Green Papers | |||||
North Dakota joined the Union in November 1889 and has participated in all elections from1892 onwards.
Since1900, North Dakota voted Democratic 17.24 percent of the time and Republican 82.76 percent of the time.
Since1968, the state has always voted Republican.
The following are final 2016 predictions from various organizations for North Dakota as of Election Day.
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Times[9] | Safe R | November 6, 2016 |
| CNN[10] | Safe R | November 8, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[11] | Safe R | November 7, 2016 |
| NBC[12] | Likely R | November 7, 2016 |
| RealClearPolitics[13] | Safe R | November 8, 2016 |
| Fox News[14] | Safe R | November 7, 2016 |
| ABC[15] | Safe R | November 7, 2016 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 216,794 | 62.96 | ||
| Democratic–NPL | 93,758 | 27.23 | ||
| Libertarian | 21,434 | 6.22 | ||
| Green | 3,780 | 1.10 | ||
| Constitution |
| 1,833 | 0.53 | |
| American Delta | 364 | 0.11 | ||
| Write-in | 6,397 | 1.86 | ||
| Total votes | 344,360 | 100% | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
Results by county were as follows.[17][18]
| County | Donald Trump Republican | Hillary Clinton Democratic-NPL | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 909 | 74.63% | 216 | 17.73% | 93 | 7.64% | 693 | 56.90% | 1,218 |
| Barnes | 3,160 | 59.13% | 1,597 | 29.88% | 587 | 10.99% | 1,563 | 29.25% | 5,344 |
| Benson | 929 | 46.20% | 842 | 41.87% | 240 | 11.93% | 87 | 4.33% | 2,011 |
| Billings | 495 | 81.82% | 59 | 9.75% | 51 | 8.43% | 436 | 72.07% | 605 |
| Bottineau | 2,494 | 71.38% | 736 | 21.06% | 264 | 7.56% | 1,758 | 50.32% | 3,494 |
| Bowman | 1,446 | 80.92% | 227 | 12.70% | 114 | 6.38% | 1,219 | 68.22% | 1,787 |
| Burke | 895 | 85.08% | 119 | 11.31% | 38 | 3.61% | 776 | 73.77% | 1,052 |
| Burleigh | 32,532 | 67.80% | 10,881 | 22.68% | 4,566 | 9.52% | 21,651 | 45.12% | 47,979 |
| Cass | 39,816 | 49.26% | 31,361 | 38.80% | 9,644 | 11.94% | 8,455 | 10.46% | 80,821 |
| Cavalier | 1,357 | 67.65% | 476 | 23.73% | 173 | 8.62% | 881 | 43.92% | 2,006 |
| Dickey | 1,667 | 69.26% | 554 | 23.02% | 186 | 7.72% | 1,113 | 46.24% | 2,407 |
| Divide | 867 | 71.12% | 245 | 20.10% | 107 | 8.78% | 622 | 51.02% | 1,219 |
| Dunn | 1,771 | 78.96% | 358 | 15.96% | 114 | 5.08% | 1,413 | 63.00% | 2,243 |
| Eddy | 791 | 64.26% | 355 | 28.84% | 85 | 6.90% | 436 | 35.42% | 1,231 |
| Emmons | 1,677 | 84.65% | 215 | 10.85% | 89 | 4.50% | 1,462 | 73.80% | 1,981 |
| Foster | 1,241 | 72.19% | 347 | 20.19% | 131 | 7.62% | 894 | 52.00% | 1,719 |
| Golden Valley | 796 | 83.18% | 99 | 10.34% | 62 | 6.48% | 697 | 72.84% | 957 |
| Grand Forks | 16,340 | 53.81% | 10,851 | 35.74% | 3,174 | 10.45% | 5,489 | 18.07% | 30,365 |
| Grant | 1,108 | 80.23% | 185 | 13.40% | 88 | 6.37% | 923 | 66.83% | 1,381 |
| Griggs | 847 | 66.96% | 298 | 23.56% | 120 | 9.48% | 549 | 43.40% | 1,265 |
| Hettinger | 1,050 | 81.02% | 168 | 12.96% | 78 | 6.02% | 882 | 68.06% | 1,296 |
| Kidder | 1,111 | 80.74% | 179 | 13.01% | 86 | 6.25% | 932 | 67.73% | 1,376 |
| LaMoure | 1,481 | 68.85% | 502 | 23.34% | 168 | 7.81% | 979 | 45.51% | 2,151 |
| Logan | 888 | 83.22% | 114 | 10.68% | 65 | 6.10% | 774 | 72.54% | 1,067 |
| McHenry | 2,050 | 72.70% | 490 | 17.38% | 280 | 9.92% | 1,560 | 55.32% | 2,820 |
| McIntosh | 1,100 | 76.07% | 235 | 16.25% | 111 | 7.68% | 865 | 59.82% | 1,446 |
| McKenzie | 3,670 | 78.55% | 698 | 14.94% | 304 | 6.51% | 2,972 | 63.61% | 4,672 |
| McLean | 3,860 | 72.62% | 1,081 | 20.34% | 374 | 7.04% | 2,779 | 52.28% | 5,315 |
| Mercer | 3,759 | 80.29% | 621 | 13.26% | 302 | 6.45% | 3,138 | 67.03% | 4,682 |
| Morton | 11,336 | 71.60% | 3,080 | 19.45% | 1,416 | 8.95% | 8,256 | 52.15% | 15,832 |
| Mountrail | 2,582 | 62.88% | 1,220 | 29.71% | 304 | 7.41% | 1,362 | 33.17% | 4,106 |
| Nelson | 1,025 | 59.70% | 536 | 31.22% | 156 | 9.08% | 489 | 28.48% | 1,717 |
| Oliver | 830 | 81.61% | 119 | 11.70% | 68 | 6.69% | 711 | 69.91% | 1,017 |
| Pembina | 2,208 | 70.03% | 681 | 21.60% | 264 | 8.37% | 1,527 | 48.43% | 3,153 |
| Pierce | 1,437 | 69.39% | 431 | 20.81% | 203 | 9.80% | 1,006 | 48.58% | 2,071 |
| Ramsey | 3,217 | 60.64% | 1,505 | 28.37% | 583 | 10.99% | 1,712 | 32.27% | 5,305 |
| Ransom | 1,210 | 51.29% | 838 | 35.52% | 311 | 13.19% | 372 | 15.77% | 2,359 |
| Renville | 993 | 76.80% | 201 | 15.55% | 99 | 7.65% | 792 | 61.25% | 1,293 |
| Richland | 4,767 | 62.79% | 2,064 | 27.19% | 761 | 10.02% | 2,703 | 35.60% | 7,592 |
| Rolette | 1,217 | 32.41% | 2,099 | 55.90% | 439 | 11.69% | -882 | -23.49% | 3,755 |
| Sargent | 1,088 | 54.48% | 694 | 34.75% | 215 | 10.77% | 394 | 19.73% | 1,997 |
| Sheridan | 650 | 82.59% | 95 | 12.07% | 42 | 5.34% | 555 | 70.52% | 787 |
| Sioux | 260 | 21.10% | 758 | 61.53% | 214 | 17.37% | -498 | -40.43% | 1,232 |
| Slope | 362 | 84.19% | 43 | 10.00% | 25 | 5.81% | 319 | 74.19% | 430 |
| Stark | 9,755 | 79.17% | 1,753 | 14.23% | 814 | 6.60% | 8,002 | 64.94% | 12,322 |
| Steele | 538 | 53.85% | 361 | 36.14% | 100 | 10.01% | 177 | 17.71% | 999 |
| Stutsman | 6,718 | 66.15% | 2,498 | 24.60% | 939 | 9.25% | 4,220 | 41.55% | 10,155 |
| Towner | 733 | 63.35% | 305 | 26.36% | 119 | 10.29% | 428 | 36.99% | 1,157 |
| Traill | 2,265 | 57.59% | 1,241 | 31.55% | 427 | 10.86% | 1,024 | 26.04% | 3,933 |
| Walsh | 2,995 | 64.60% | 1,167 | 25.17% | 474 | 10.23% | 1,828 | 39.43% | 4,636 |
| Ward | 18,636 | 67.98% | 5,806 | 21.18% | 2,970 | 10.84% | 12,830 | 46.80% | 27,412 |
| Wells | 1,796 | 75.37% | 419 | 17.58% | 168 | 7.05% | 1,377 | 57.79% | 2,383 |
| Williams | 10,069 | 78.62% | 1,735 | 13.55% | 1,003 | 7.83% | 8,334 | 65.07% | 12,807 |
| Totals | 216,794 | 62.96% | 93,758 | 27.23% | 33,808 | 9.81% | 123,036 | 35.73% | 344,360 |
Swing by county
Trend relative to the state by county
County flipsDemocratic Hold | Republican Hold Gain from Democratic
|
Due to the state's low population, only one congressional district is allocated. This district is an at-large district, because it covers the entire state, and thus is equivalent to the statewide election results.
| District | Trump | Clinton | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| At-large | 62.96% | 27.23% | Kevin Cramer |
Republican nomineeDonald Trump won North Dakota in a 36-percentage-point victory overDemocratic rivalHillary Clinton, thus carrying the state's 3electoral votes.[20] Like many neighboring majority-white, largelyruralGreat Plains andprairie states, North Dakota has not supported a Democratic candidate for president sinceLyndon B. Johnson in1964.
North Dakota politics are dominated by thefarm, with a largely white andolder populace who aresocially conservative. Though the state's farming population has briefly flirted withpopulism, that movement is now mostly faded from North Dakota politics, as farms in North Dakota are no longer tilled by solitaryyeoman and are no longerfamily-owned as much, and are replaced byagribusinesses.[21]
In recent presidential elections,Bakken shale oil has been a major driver of conservative success in the state, as its economy is increasingly fueled by theNorth Dakota oil boom and its population grows suspect of theenvironmental movement championed by Democrats. The main oil boom has taken place in the counties west and northwest ofBismarck, where Donald Trump won sometimes north of 80% of the vote.[21]
Trump won inGrand Forks County which contains the city ofGrand Forks, inCass County which contains the city ofFargo, and inBurliegh County which contains the capital city ofBismarck. He also swept most of the rural and deeply conservative counties of the state, sometimes taking more than 80% of the vote in a county. Clinton won resoundingly inSioux County, which is majorityNative American and is the site of theDakota Access Pipeline Protest by its inhabitants, theSioux Indian tribe.
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