NEW ROCKFORD, ND – Today, Karisa Grothe, Larry Danduran and Jason Steidl all announced their intention to seek legislative seats in District 14. Grothe will be seeking the State Senate seat, while Danduran and Steidl will each seek State House seats.
Karisa Grothe comes from a multigenerational Minnesota farming family. She is a graduate of St. Catherine University, where she studied medical sign language, and later worked for a small business that provided resources and materials for the deaf and hearing impaired. Karisa’s past work includes time as a Paraplanner and a Financial Advisor at Waddell & Reed Financial Services. For 14 years, she was involved with Business Networking International, and served as President and Vice President. Her husband Ross has been a Professional Walleye Fisherman since 1994, and they have two sons. Together, they started a successful home building business, Grothe Homes, which they ran for 16 years.
Karisa’s family moved to Baldwin, ND, where she has since been politically active in various elected positions within the local Republican party. “My family left Minnesota in part because of the high taxes and loss of freedoms we saw during Covid,” said Karisa. “Living in North Dakota has become the greatest blessing for us, and I want to help preserve what we are so lucky to have. It’s never been more important to elect strong conservatives who will adhere to their constitutional oaths and put the people first, over the bureaucracy, lobbyists and special interests.”
Karisa said that she is passionate about education. “While math & reading proficiencies have declined across much of North Dakota, our children are not being prepared for success,” Karisa continued. “We need to get back to classical education and instill a sense of national pride and civic duty. Children must also be protected from dangerous ideologies like critical race theory and other Marxist thought. Parental rights must be restored.”
Larry Danduran is a father of 5, and grandfather to 12. He lives in New Rockford with his wife Glenda. His professional background is varied – from selling office supplies to oil and gas well leases, to running a successful insurance business. For a time, he worked in telecommunications, construction and home remodeling. Larry also worked at his father-in-law's Chevrolet dealership BR Chevrolet and Olds, later purchasing the franchise in 1997 and renamed it New Rockford Chevrolet & Olds. The business had many successful years and was known for its large volume of Corvette sales. Later, in 2019, he was approached by Bessette Motors to manage and turn around the Carrington store from its financial challenges. Since that time, the store has built a strong team and become profitable.
Larry has been a member of the Lion’s Club and Knights of Columbus. He served as a council member of St John's parish, New Rockford Park Board, Airport Authority, Community Betterment Board, and now serves as 2nd Vice Chair of District 14 Republican Party. In 1998, he was elected to serve on the New Rockford City Commission.
“North Dakotans are amazing people, with good values and an unmatched work ethic,” said Larry. “We have all the ingredients here to be successful in every way we need to. But between insane politicians in Washington, D.C. and well-intended people we send to Bismarck who are asleep at the wheel, we are not represented how we should be. One example is how Bismarck politicians defined CO2 Carbon capture pipelines the same as public utilities, allowing entities like Summit Carbon Solutions to take property by eminent domain, making profit for private corporations.”
“We need to be more forward-thinking,” continued Larry. “Our state must fight back against federal overreach that hinders new oil exploration, while increasing access to natural gas. While there’s nothing wrong with developing alternatives, subsidizing wind or other “green energy” projects ultimately contributes to unstable baseload power. A stable power grid and low energy costs is key to building small businesses in our rural communities.”
Jason Steidl has owned a small electrical contracting business based out of Driscoll since 2018, and he has 2 children. He earned his Associates Degree in Electronics from NDSCS in 1992. Over the years, his work brought him to Arizona, Alaska, Oregon, Washington and California. For a few years, he lived with his family in Baja California in Mexico, where they worked in an orphanage and were involved in missionary work. Jason’s career as an electrician has allowed him to help in the construction of major projects in North Dakota, including the detention center in Bismarck and the hospital in Watford City. Recently, he’s gotten involved in politics, being elected to the District 14 Republican committee and serving as an election judge in Wing.
“Our State is blessed with an abundance of resources. Our state funds have tens of billions of dollars in them, some of which is being invested in Wall Street and foreign entities. We need to bring that money back home as much as possible. We should also use our excess to cut tax burdens for working families. Everyone’s monthly bills are through the roof right now. Now is the time for the conservative majority in District 14 to unite together under new leadership and send a message that we the people are done with the status quo.”
“We all decided to run together after realizing we shared common values,” said Jason. “Our commitment is to remain transparent, accountable, and responsive to our constituents. We don’t claim to know everything, and we’re willing to listen to your concerns. We offer voters a conservative Republican choice, a vote for fiscal restraint, family values, constitutionalism, low taxes, protecting property rights and preserving our special rural culture here in North Dakota.”
Grothe, Danduran and Steidl plan to seek the local Republican party endorsement on February 18th in Steele, and the Republican nomination in the June 11th primary.
