When state Sen. Merrill Piepkorn, gubernatorial candidate for the Democratic-NPL, joined this episode of Plain Talk with me and my co-host Chad Oban, the first question I wanted to ask him was how he plans to unite North Dakota voters at a time when even Republicans here seem deeply divided against themselves.

Piepkorn accused me of not "pussy footing around." Joking aside, he thinks the right approach is "making the effort" to get to know people and understand their issues.

The candidate says one of the challenges Democrats running in North Dakota have is that they get lumped in with the national Democratic brand. Which, he argues, isn't nearly so moderate as the North Dakota iteration of the party.

"I don't even know what AOC stands for," he said, referring to the oft-used initials of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most visible national figures representing the progressive wing of the Democratic party.

Piepkorn also took questions about what his agenda would be for North Dakota, if elected, how he feels about the ballot measure to abolish property taxes (he's against it), and how he might try to appeal to Republican voters who are feeling disillusioned.

His answer to that last was candidate. He says he doesn't know, and that he'd rather say that than "make stuff up."

"I have stuff to do," he said.

"We're going to talk to people and find out," he added.

Also on this episode, Chad and I discuss Gov. Doug Burgum's trip to Mar-a-Lago to schmooze Donald Trump, and the controversy over District 37's delegates to the NDGOP's state convention.

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