At first glance, outsiders might expect North Dakota to have already passed both school choice and a ban on pornography in public libraries. Republicans hold overwhelming majorities — 42-5 in the Senate and 83-11 in the House — and every statewide elected official is a Republican. Yet, Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s twin vetoes of both bills have forced conservatives to wait another two years to achieve these basic red-state goals. Warnings about Armstrong’s weakness came early and often.

SB 2307 could not be simpler. “A public library or a school district may not maintain in an area easily accessible to minors explicit sexual material,” the final amended text reads. Any sane person should support this standard. The definition of “explicit sexual material” mirrors language already used in other areas of law. The bill does not even ban the books outright — it merely restricts children’s access to sexually explicit material in publicly funded libraries.

Electing more governors like Kelly Armstrong will leave conservatives with nowhere to run.

Without enforcement, any law becomes meaningless. SB 2307 addresses this by requiring local prosecutors to investigate violations. Schools and libraries found out of compliance risk losing state funding.

Despite the bill’s straightforward intent, it barely passed — just 27-20 in the Senate and 49-45 in the House — with more than a third of Republicans joining Democrats to oppose it. Last week, to the shock of party officials, Armstrong vetoed the bill.

“I don’t pretend to know what the next literary masterpiece is going to be,” Armstrong wrote in his veto message. “But I know that I want it available in a library.” In parroting tired liberal straw-man talking points, Armstrong claimed he agreed with the concerns but dismissed the bill as a “misguided attempt to legislate morality through overreach and censorship.”

According to Armstrong, limiting children’s access to sexually explicit material in taxpayer-funded libraries now qualifies as “censorship.”

The rest of Armstrong’s veto message trots out the usual excuses — warnings about frivolous lawsuits, handwringing over enforcement logistics, and complaints about oversight costs. But his main point could not be clearer: Armstrong opposes any effort to shield children from sexual content in public institutions.

Bought out by teachers’ unions

What can parents do when public schools flood classrooms with pornography? Send their kids to private school, of course. Unfortunately, Armstrong worked to block that option, too.

House Bill 1540 would have established Education Savings Accounts for private school students, giving them a chance to compete with just a fraction of the money state and federal governments pour into the public system. The bill passed the House 49-43 and the Senate 27-20 — the same narrow margins as the library porn bill.

In his veto message last week, Armstrong whined that public school students pay taxes, too, and griped that HB 1540 offered them nothing. Instead, he threw his support behind Senate Bill 2400, which turns school choice into another welfare program for the public education establishment. Most of the money under SB 2400 would flow straight to parents whose children already attend public schools.

But why would public school students need education savings accounts when their tuition already costs nothing? The entire school choice movement rests on a simple truth: Government pours massive sums into public education, and families need just a fraction of that money diverted to private options to have a real choice. In North Dakota, the average combined state and federal cost of public education hits about $13,778 per K-12 student. Yet under HB 1540, the proposed funding for education savings accounts ranged from only $1,100 to $4,000, depending on household income — all of it aimed at private school students.

The funding imbalance also explains the shortage of private schools across much of North Dakota. Armstrong cited the lack of private schools outside major cities as justification for pouring even more money into public schools. But with fairer funding, more private schools would emerge. In a duplicitous statement, Armstrong claimed he “strongly supports expanding school choice.” Yet, real expansion demands closing the funding gap — something Armstrong clearly opposes. His true allegiance lies with the teachers’ unions, not with parents seeking alternatives.

A pattern of reckless endorsements

The Senate bill Armstrong promoted also stuffs extra money into school lunch programs and ropes homeschooling parents into the scheme — despite the fact that North Dakota homeschoolers explicitly rejected involvement.

Conservatives had plenty of warning. Armstrong served in the leadership of the RINO Main Street Partnership during his time in Congress. Although North Dakota boasts a growing conservative bench, Trump’s premature endorsement last spring handed Armstrong the governorship in one reckless move.

If Trump keeps up his reckless endorsement habits, every deep-red state will soon struggle to pass even the most basic conservative priorities. Once Trump leaves office, Democrats won’t just revive Biden-era policies — they will escalate.

Deep-red states like North Dakota, immune from political swings in general elections, must become our last strongholds of freedom. Electing more governors like Kelly Armstrong will strip away that sanctuary and leave conservatives with nowhere to run.