At the national level, it's a given this is a bad year to be a political incumbent.
It's quite a different story for the elected officials in local county governments.
In primary races in Cass County on Tuesday and in a county election this fall in Clay County, there's just one county official facing a challenger.
Among department heads and the commission seats, that's 12 uncontested races versus one contested - a Clay County Commission post in which District 3 incumbent Jon Evert will face challenger Ron Ekre.
Jim Danielson, a retired political science professor at Minnesota State University Moorhead, said it's a mistake to assume that the national trend would play out on a local level.
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"The closer you get to local politics, the less of this anti-incumbency there is," Danielson said, noting that much of what counties do "are things that people don't necessarily agree or disagree upon on a party basis."
It's pretty standard to see incumbents unopposed in county elections, said Cass County Auditor Michael Montplaisir. Many of those offices are technical positions that spur little political rancor, and qualified candidates have no trouble finding work, he said.
"We've got a great job market," Montplaisir said.
People often don't see the connection to county government that seems to be more apparent at the city level, Montplaisir said.
"For some reason, the county is off the radar screen," he said.
But each of the last three county election cycles have seen far more competition, according to The Forum's archives. In 2006, Cass and Clay saw five contested races. There were at least four challenged positions in 2002. Four years prior, voters rejected the incumbent chief prosecutors in both counties.
And while county and city races don't necessarily equate, voters in Moorhead ousted two City Council incumbents just last fall.
So do this year's nearly blank county slates signify anything?
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When county incumbents are taken on, Montplaisir said, it's often for a sheriff or the top prosecutor post.
Danielson said the lack of challengers for the elected law enforcement positions indicates how popular they are perceived to be.
Across-the-board scarcity of opposition candidates shows voters have a sense of contentment, he said.
"There isn't an intense degree of disgust or unhappiness about what they're doing," Danielson said.
Even the expensive and weighty issue of long-term flood protection must not be drawing any widespread political ire, he said.
"I think there's this broadly shared sense that we've got to do something about this," Danielson said.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Roepke at (701) 241-5535
