Trygve Hammer

Hammer says he grew up in Velva, North Dakota, and graduated from Velva High School.[2][3] He says he enlisted in the Navy as a nuclear power machinist's mate before earning an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, from which he received a bachelor's degree in 1990.[2][3] He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve until 2010, including as a helicopter pilot, forward air controller, military attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, and instructor, and says he flew CH-53D helicopters and led an infantry unit in Iraq in 2003.[2][3]

Hammer's later work included stints as an airline pilot, defense contractor, and security consultant, and then as a writer and teacher; he says he writes a newsletter called Punching Up.[2][3]

Hammer ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for North Dakota House District 6 in 2020, finishing third in a two-seat race, and for the North Dakota Public Service Commission in 2022, receiving 29.5% against Republican incumbent Sheri Haugen-Hoffart.[2] He was the Democratic nominee for the at-large U.S. House seat in 2024, losing to Julie Fedorchak with 30.4% of the vote, and won the 2026 Democratic primary with 99.8% of the vote.[2] During the campaign, he said he ran to restore Congress's constitutional powers over war, tariffs, and spending.[2][3] He received 36.7% of the vote to Julie Fedorchak's 57.4%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]