Who is Dave Roetman? Newly appointed North Dakota GOP leader resigns after bigoted, misogynistic posts resurface
MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA: Dave Roetman, a newly-appointed executive director of the North Dakota Republican Party, has resigned from his position after a media outlet publicized his social media posts that were demeaning toward women and Black people.
On Monday, October 30, the party announced the resignation of Roetman, who previously worked for the South Dakota GOP.
Roetman assumed the position on October 20 after former executive director Samantha Holly resigned in September citing 'several obstacles that have made it difficult for me to continue working here' in her resignation letter.
The Augustana University graduate previously served as Treasurer for the Minnehaha County Republican Party. In August 2017, he went to work with the South Dakota GOP as Finance Director.
What did Dave Roetman’s posts say?
Roetman’s resignation came after a report from The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead revealed that the executive director had made remarks on women's bodies on Twitter and had encouraged Black people to leave the nation.
His posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, span more than a year and include themes ranging from crude remarks to political problems of the month.
The posts also included offensive remarks, such as "she seems nice" in response to many images featuring women wearing skimpy attire. In response to a post from a woman asking for relationship advice, he said, "Here is a quarter, keep in between your knees."
“That is too bad. She could be attractive,” the former GOP executive director said in reference to a video showing a plus-size woman sharing her daily food intake.
In response to a post that said Black people made Wakanda, white people made Chicago, where would you rather live, Roetman wrote, “She should move to Wakanda.”
He also called a Black reporter “narcissist” in response to a post about how she left a music festival after a man called her a racist word.
After his inflammatory tweets were reported, he started posting memes about "getting canceled. “Can someone update me on what's offensive today? It's hard to keep up!” one of his posts said.
How did Dave Roetman react to his resignation?
After InForum published the report, Roetman told the outlet, "I am a man who stands by his words."
He also told The Associated Press “I think that recent events have been a distraction for the party, and I just don’t want it to be a distraction. We need to have a strong party, and I’m just going to take a different path here.”
North Dakota Republican Party Chair Sandi Sanford said she was “very disappointed” by Roetman’s posts. She said the search committee “looked at everything,” and that the disparaging posts were “kind of buried.”
“This is your content,” Sanford said she advised Roetman. “You’re an adult, you’re going to have to deal with responding to it.”
Sanford stated that the executive director serves as the party's main point of contact with district authorities, oversees the party office and personnel, helps with general financial management and fundraising, and interacts with elected officials.