PSC primary results set stage for Stutsman County utility policy debates
Sheri Haugen-Hoffart and Jill Kringstad held leads in North Dakota’s PSC primaries as Stutsman County voters turned out early in stronger numbers than in 2022 and 2024.
The race for two seats on North Dakota’s Public Service Commission quickly became more than a party primary in Stutsman County, where decisions on electric rates, transmission lines and wind-energy siting can shape monthly bills and local development. Unofficial statewide results on June 9 showed Republican incumbent Sheri Haugen-Hoffart leading Deven Styczynski in the six-year-term primary, while Republican Jill Kringstad held the lead over Chris Olson in the unexpired two-year-term contest.
The PSC is a three-member commission elected statewide to staggered six-year terms, with roots that reach back to Dakota Territory’s Board of Railroad Commissioners in 1885. It took its current name in 1940, and the agency continues to sit at the center of utility regulation and major siting fights that affect communities far from Bismarck, including rural customers who depend on reliable service and stable energy costs.
That made the primary matter in Jamestown and across Stutsman County, where early voting already pointed to a stronger-than-usual June turnout. County auditor and chief operating officer Jessica Alonge said 671 voters had cast ballots early through Thursday, a pace that surpassed early voting totals from the 2022 and 2024 primaries.
Voters used early voting at the Stutsman County Courthouse in Jamestown from June 1 through June 5. On Election Day, voters went to the Jamestown Civic Center, while precinct 472910 voters in Medina cast ballots at the American Legion. The 2024 June primary turnout in Stutsman County was 16.2%, with 2,795 ballots cast out of 17,245 eligible voters, giving local officials a benchmark for how strongly residents were participating this year.
Haugen-Hoffart entered the race after being appointed to the PSC by then-Gov. Doug Burgum in February 2022 and winning the seat later that year. Kringstad was appointed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong in 2024 to fill the seat vacated by Julie Fedorchak after Fedorchak won election to Congress. Their leads set up a fall campaign that will carry weight well beyond party labels, with the PSC continuing to influence the cost and delivery of power in homes, farms and businesses across Stutsman County.
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