U.S. Senate candidate Katrina Christiansen says the incumbent in her race "isn't that popular."

Christiansen is running unopposed for the Democratic-NPL's nomination, and the incumbent she's referring to is Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer, who is seeking a second six-year term. The challenger says she has polling suggesting that only 33% of previous Cramer voters are committed to voting for the incumbent again.

"I think that shows the race can be competitive," she told me and my co-host Chad Oban, though she acknowledges that she has her own challenges. "My name rec is not great," she said, referring to name recognition, a common campaign metric, especially for challengers.

We talked mostly about the question of federal policy on abortion -- Christiansen said she would vote to "codify Roe" in federal law -- and foreign policy. On the latter, Christiansen said Congress should have passed more aid funding for Ukraine "six months ago." She also spoke strong in support of Israel, though she says she supports a ceasefire.

Still, "Supporting Ukraine puts America first," she said. "Supporting Israel puts America first."

Christiansen said that if elected, she'll be "a foreign policy hawk."

Also on this episode, we discuss the first debate between Republican gubernatorial candidates Tammy Miller and Kelly Armstrong, as well as my story about Miller's running mate, Commerce Commissioner Josh Teigen, and some personal conflicts of interest he had with his work in the Commerce Department under Gov. Doug Burgum's administration.

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It wasn't on purpose, but bipartisanship and moderation ended up being the themes of this episode of Plain Talk.

Whether we're talking about a Republican Speaker of the House, under siege from the MAGA wing of his own party, reaching out to Democrats to get things done, or democracy engaging on the issue of abortion now that the Roe v. Wade precedent has been overturned, it's clear that process matters. And when we engage in the process, and we have the debates, and we don't let ourselves be derailed by all the various flavors of theatrical obstructionism, the outcomes we get are further from what the extremes might want, and closer to what most of us can live with.

Co-host Chad Oban and I talk about renewed controversy about delegate votes at the NDGOP state convention and whether U.S. House candidate Rick Becker's promises to help contribute to the chaos in Congress if elected is going to help him with North Dakota voters.

We asked the guest for this show, Sen. Kevin Cramer, about that last point. "I think it's consistent with how Rick Becker has behaved in the Legislature," he said, arguing that Becker's campaign trail posturing is authentic. "It might be a good tactic to being the largest vote getter in a five-way race, he added.

But also, "the House doesn't really need more bulls in a China closet," Cramer added.

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"I don't think he's a good person," U.S. House candidate said on this episode of Plain Talk, referring to former President Donald Trump.

"I'm appalled at how much people have caved," she also said, saying her opponents in the North Dakota Republican Party's primary are too Trump loyal. "I'm the only candidate in this race who is not worshiping Trump,"she added.

"I support women," she continued, referencing her fiercely pro-choice position on the issue of abortion, "and I will not bow to Trump."

But when I asked her how she'll vote in November, she didn't rule out casting a ballot for Trump. "I'm considering the options for both," she said, adding that she did vote for Trump in 2016.

Mund also discussed other policy positions, such as the issues at the border and support for Israel, and told my co-host Chad Oban and I that despite her passion about keeping legal access to abortion, she doesn't want to be known as a single-issue candidate.

Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak also joined this episode, and talked about her evolving position on a federal abortion ban. When we interviewed her on Plain Talk in February, Fedorchak said she opposed a federal abortion ban. Now she says she supports one. What gives?

Fedorchak says she supports the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe, and send the issue back to the states, but that she also isn't opposed to the federal government setting national guideline, though it wouldn't be an immediate priority.

"Would this be my goal in the first 100 days in Congress? It wouldn't," she said.

Fedorchak also hit both Mund and Becker for what she characterized as convenient political posturing. "They have changed parties as opportunists," she said, referring to Becker's decision to challenge Republican Sen. John Hoeven in 2022 as an independent, and Mund's strong support from Democrats as an independent U.S. House candidate that same cycle.

As for Mund's contention that she worships Trump? "The only person I worship is my god," she said, adding that she plans to support Trump in 2024, and has no comment on his personal lifestyle choices or legal challenges.

"I'm not going to pass judgment on Trump and his personal issues," she said.

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