Rep. Cole Christensen’s grandmother appointed to fill his term in North Dakota Legislature

BISMARCK — The grandmother of Rep. Cole Christensen has been appointed to fill her grandson’s seat for the remainder of his term.

Dan Johnston, chair of the District 24 Republican Executive Committee, said members voted Thursday, Feb. 29 to appoint Rose Christensen to serve through the end of November. Cole Christensen resigned from his position because he is moving out of state to join his wife in Missouri.

“Rose has been an activist for a number of years and probably knows the Capitol building better than most legislators that are there,” Johnston said.

He added it caps off Rose Christensen’s lifetime of being involved in politics as a citizen. This will be her first time holding office.

“She’s full of energy,” he said. “She’s got a lot of wit and she’s quick, and she’s still got it.”

In an interview with the North Dakota Monitor, Rose Christensen said she was surprised by the news and incredibly proud of her grandson, Cole Christensen.

“I’m still absorbing this,” Rose Christensen said.

The rural Rogers woman said politics run deep in her family.

“We just sit around at the supper table and we don’t talk about what our neighbors are driving, or buying or doing,” she said. “We talk about things like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and history and those types of things. We’re just interested in the affairs of the world from a viewpoint of maintaining liberty.”

She declined to provide her age, but said she’s old enough to enjoy her four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Christensen said she opposes the Congressional Age-Limit ballot initiative that may appear on the North Dakota June 11 primary ballot, if the signatures submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office are verified. The ballot measure would create a constitutional amendment prohibiting North Dakotans from being elected or appointed to Congress if they would reach their 81st birthday before the end of their term.

“You are not necessarily senile just because you happen to reach a new decade in your life,” Christensen said.

Her interim committee appointments will be determined by Legislative Management, said John Bjornson, director of Legislative Council.

This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com