Kelly Michael Armstrong (born October 8, 1976)[1][2] is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 34th governor of North Dakota since 2024.

A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2019 to 2024 as the U.S. representative for North Dakota's at-large congressional district.

[3] Armstrong won the Republican primary on June 11, 2024, and defeated Democratic nominee Merrill Piepkorn in the general election.

[10] He resigned his seat in the North Dakota Legislature on November 7 and took office in Congress in January 2019, replacing Kevin Cramer, who was elected to the United States Senate.

[12] Armstrong was one of a coalition of seven Republicans who did not support their colleagues' efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021.

[15] In September 2022, Armstrong was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.

[16][17] On June 14, 2023, Armstrong voted to table the first censure bill against Adam Schiff, finding the $16 million fine excessive.

[24] On December 14, 2024, Armstrong submitted his letter of resignation from Congress effective at midnight that night in order to take office as governor of North Dakota the next day.

[30] Armstrong faced Lieutenant Governor Tammy Miller in the primary for the North Dakota Republican Party endorsement.

[35] Armstrong defeated Democratic-NPL candidate Merrill Piepkorn and independent Michael Coachman in the general election[36] with 68.3% of the vote.

One of Armstrong's first actions as governor was to fill the vacant seat on the North Dakota Public Service Commission left by his congressional successor, Julie Fedorchak.

[38][39][40] Before the beginning of the legislative session, Armstrong proposed a plan to eliminate property taxes in the state, which was first addressed publicly by the failed measure 4 ballot in 2024.

[42][43][44][45][46][47] Armstrong testified before the house finance and taxation committee in support of his plan, put into legislation by representative Mike Nathe.

[51] During a debate against Cara Mund in 2022, Armstrong said he supports Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022), the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned the right to abortion set forth in Roe v. Wade (1973).