Rick Becker

Rick Becker
Republican candidate for Governor of North Dakota
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Occupation	Plastic surgeon

Rick Becker is a North Dakota politician from Bismarck. He serves in the North Dakota House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party.

Becker is a plastic surgeon and businessman with several commercial developments. He was elected to represent District 7 in the North Dakota House in 2012, and was reelected to a four-year term in 2014.^[1] Becker has often been cited as among the top fiscal conservatives in the House.^[2] He was a candidate for Governor of North Dakota in the 2016 gubernatorial election.^[3] He will probably be a candidate for federal office in 2018, likely in a run for the US Senate against incumbent Heidi Heitkamp. Becker has also held a position on the Bismarck Planning and Zoning Commission.

He is often described as a conservative or libertarian.^[4] Becker has described himself as "...many things: a classical liberal, libertarian, fiscal conservative, laissez-faire capitalist. There are many things that you can refer to me as."^[5] Becker has voluntarily requested officials to rescind^[6] certain benefits and tax breaks his businesses are eligible for because he doesn't agree with them. In a media interview, Becker stated, “I’m a very vocal opponent to most government incentive programs. I’m very much a believer in the free market."^[7]

63rd Legislative Session

During his first session in 2013, Becker gained notoriety for being a staunch fiscal hawk and civil libertarian. He formed the Bastiat Caucus, named after the political philosopher Frederic Bastiat. Eventually, the group grew to several dozen members of the North Dakota House, often holding regular meetings to organize a unified, conservative front on key votes.

64th Legislative Session

During the 2015 Legislative Session, Becker supported Division A of HB 1461, which would have pulled North Dakota out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, generally seen as a move to get the state out of the Common Core standards. The bill narrowly failed.^[8] Becker was the main force courting support for the bill, which Governor Dalrymple, Superintendent of Public Instruction Baesler, and Republican Party leadership opposed.^[9]

Becker supported a bill which would have brought the state income tax down to a 0% rate for an extended tax holiday for residents paying those taxes.^[10] His bill to ban DUI checkpoints garnered significant controversy but ultimately failed.^[11]

2016 gubernatorial campaign

On November 11, in an online video announcement, Becker became the first candidate to announce his candidacy in the 2016 North Dakota gubernatorial election.^[12] The campaign sought the endorsement of the Republican Party at the State Convention, held in Fargo in April 2016. He publicly pledged to not proceed past the convention without support from the Party.^[13] Becker was endorsed by many of the top conservatives in the legislature, including Majority Caucus Leader Scott Louser. He was also endorsed by the National Association for Gun Rights and by Congressman and former presidential candidate Ron Paul.^[14]

At the State Republican Convention, Becker came in second to Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem on a first and second ballot. Eventually Stenehjem won in a close race over Becker. Doug Burgum, who came in a distant third at the convention, eventually defeated Stenehjem in the June 14th Republican primary.<^[15]REF name="AutoA6-15"/>

Despite losing the Republican gubernatorial endorsement, Becker received more votes as a delegate to the Republican National Convention than anyone else, including the sitting Governor Jack Dalrymple and Senator John Hoeven.^[16]

Possible 2018 US Senate campaign

Becker is a potential candidate in the US Senate race in 2018 against incumbent Democrat Heidi Heitkamp. There are strong expectations he would shore up support from the Party's more conservative and libertarian grassroots.^[17]

References