The incumbent, Democratic-NPL Congressman Earl Pomeroy was re-elected to his sixth term, defeating Republican candidate Rick Clayburgh.

Only Pomeroy filed as a Dem-NPLer, and the endorsed Republican candidate was Rick Clayburgh, who was serving as the North Dakota State Tax Commissioner.

[1] The election was the closest for Pomeroy in all of his career as congressman until his defeat in 2010; he won by just over 11,000 votes.

This was because Clayburgh ran an aggressive campaign, and was the most well-known candidate ever to face Pomeroy; he had held a statewide office for 8 years.

United States Vice President Dick Cheney campaigned for Clayburgh in Fargo, North Dakota on July 29.