Plain Talk With Rob Port

Jeffrey Powell is an administrator at Mayville State University and the Democratic-NPL candidate for Secretary of State. He was endorsed by the party's executive committee (he made a late decision to run so didn't attend the party's state convention in Minot) and in November will be facing off against one of two potential Republican candidates. State Rep. Michael Howe is squaring off with Bismarck mechanic Marvin Lepp in the NDGOP primary. Powell has been watching that race, and on this episode of Plain Talk, said it frustrates him when the Republican candidates talk about "election integrity," arguing that's a "code word for voter suppression." He said the primary job of a Secretary of State is to protect the right of the people to vote, and accused Republican lawmakers of enacting laws to suppress votes in past legislative sessions. Powell also spoke about running as a Democrat in a state that has become deeply Republican over the last couple of decades. He said there is a "sense of fear" among Democrats wh