It is not so much love as the fact that Conrad, Dorgan, and the other doofus run on the platform of how much cash they bring back to ND. Not much else.
I spent over eight years up there and found that as a society ND is mostly mercenary. Money is at the root of their politics and that s why Quentin Burdik was elected over and over again until he was so feeble his aides were actually doing some of his voting for him.
They bring home cash and the rest is ignored.