This is a race where the GOP should've been able to go to the North Dakota State Senate, grab the first warm body they can, and say "You're the candidate". Neset seems like a Plan D or E type candidate.
Surely the NDGOP can do better than even that - what about Dalrymple or Stenehjem? Especially the former - I haven't heard his name mentioned at all.
Dalrymple is up in age, and apparently some think he handled the DAPL protests poorly. Stenehjem is probably damaged from his ill-fated governor bid last year (which ended in a shockingly wide primary defeat).
Didn't Burgum outspend him by some ridiculous margin? I might be misremembering, though