MINOT — We live in a polarized and hyper-partisan era. It’s a reality that seems to influence the way we are governed at every level, from local to national.

That’s why it raised a lot of eyebrows when the governor-elect

Kelly Armstrong

chose an incumbent Democratic lawmaker to serve in his cabinet. Rep. Corey Mock, of Grand Forks, who did not seek re-election this year, will serve as information director after Armstrong is sworn in next month. He has served in the State House since his first election in 2008.

This is a wise choice on an individual level, although I must admit to a certain bias here. Mock, also a Minot native, is a good friend who recently

guest hosted the Plain Talk podcast

when my regular co-host Chad Oban and I were off last week. Although he and I do not share an ideology, I have long esteemed Mock’s public service. When Mock ran for Secretary of State in 2010, I voted for him out of frustration with the Republican incumbent, Al Jaeger, who I felt wasn’t doing enough to modernize the station.

Mock is a shrewd and serious public servant who will serve Armstrong well.

But that’s my analysis of Mock the person. There is a broader political implication to consider: a new Republican governor in a deeply Republican state choosing a Democrat to serve in his administration. A key role, no less, given ongoing efforts to adapt state governments to the realities of our increasingly digital world.

Taken literally, you might see this as a risk Armstrong is taking. And perhaps there will be some grumbling from the far-right wings of Armstrong’s party about elevating a Democrat in this way, even though Mock, while certainly liberal, has a solid reputation as moderate. But we must not forget that this is the same Kelly Armstrong who voted to certify the 2020 election despite the (sometimes violent) demands of the MAGA movement to vote otherwise.

Armstrong also voted to codify same-sex marriage into federal law, then looked down.

an attempt by NDGOP party leaders to censor him

for the vote.

This year, Armstrong won the NDGOP gubernatorial nomination overwhelmingly, with nearly 73 percent of the vote, en route to another landslide victory in the general election earlier this month. If not for the fact that Armstrong was in a three-way race with Democratic candidate Merrill Piepkorn and far-right MAGA-aligned independent candidate Michael Coachman, he likely would have been the top vote recipient among the state’s candidates in competitive races.

In fact, Armstrong led President-elect Donald Trump by nearly 1,000 votes.

Armstrong did not need to choose a Democrat to serve in his administration. Given the tense political environment in which we live, he devotes a good part of his political capital to it. Although I haven’t spoken to Armstrong about his motivations (or to Mock, for that matter, who has kept me in the dark about this nomination, which means he and I aren’t going to be friends for the rest of the day), part I wonder if there was an intention here other than simply choosing a competent person for the job.

Perhaps this is a message about how things are going to be under the Armstrong administration.

We tend to think that the goal of politics is to beat the other side, but that’s not true. Our goal is competent governance.

Neither party has a monopoly on good ideas. Elections do not end the debates. Whoever is in charge now, we still have to live together.

I admit that Armstrong choosing Mock surprised me, but it probably shouldn’t have. One of Armstrong’s great strengths has always been his ability to keep a cool head, even when those around him are losing theirs.

(if you will excuse the reference to Kipling),

and build coalitions, even across partisan chasms.