Last month I wrote about District 3’s Rep. Andrew Maragos insulting some of the very people in his district that he’s asking to vote for him. He did this by writing a Letter to the Editor in the Minot Daily News in which he blamed his June 12th primary loss for the Republican nomination to State House on a “strong, organized, and well-funded opposition, who brought in outsiders to impact the election.” That primary loss came after Maragos had also lost his District’s endorsement at their nominating convention on March 27th.
Following back to back losses, Maragos decided to toss his hat in the ring as an Independent candidate for State Senate against Republican incumbent Oley Larsen— the most conservative member of the North Dakota State Senate. I honestly believe that his campaign is one of bitter political retribution. And it seems its clouded Maragos’ better judgment. As I wrote last month:
“… who were these ‘outsiders’ that Maragos apparently feels cost him his seat in the North Dakota State House? They were North Dakotans. Were some of them from other districts who joined in campaign activities like going door to door? Yes. But is it terribly uncommon for candidates to have people from other districts assist them in their campaigning? Not at all. Did these ‘outsiders’ somehow bamboozle a majority of voters in District 3? I don’t think so. And to suggest as much is not only disingenuous, but it should be insulting to the people of the district that Maragos would even claim such a thing.
“You see, Maragos can’t have it both ways. He can’t say on one hand that his strength is the respect he has for all his constituents, while essentially claiming on the other that some of them are so stupid that they were influenced by ‘outsiders’ to vote against him. It’s nothing short of ridiculous.”
But like the Democrats who can’t seem to accept the reality of a Donald Trump presidency, Maragos just can’t seem to accept the two losses he endured. And like the aforementioned Democrats who can’t seem to let go of their Russian narrative, Maragos just won’t let go of his outsider narrative. In fact, as you can see below, he’s doubled down and made it a slogan of sorts on his campaign fliers.
It seems fairly evident that if Maragos loses on November 6th that he’ll say it’s because of these “outsiders” meddling in the District 3 election. Heck, who knows, maybe it’s because of the Russians… or not. I know it’s difficult for him to accept, but maybe a general election loss would be due to the fact that the majority of his constituents rejected him because he wasn’t really a conservative Republican in the first place.
Maragos’ record is awful enough. But his doubling down on a narrative of some band of “outsiders” costing him a seat in the North Dakota State Legislature is ludicrous. I hope the people of District 3 send him packing for good by voting for Republican Senator Oley Larsen on November 6th.
Sources:
- https://theminutemanblog.com/2018/09/10/district-3s-rep-maragos-letter-is-insulting1/
- https://theminutemanblog.com/2018/04/16/district-3-tired-liberals-running-republicans/
- https://www.myndnow.com/news/minot-news/district-3-maragos-files-petition-for-state-senator/1383587407
- http://acuratings.conservative.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2017/07/NorthDakota_2017_web-2.pdf
