A North Dakota Republican Party official and state House candidate has been charged with drunken driving and having an open container of alcohol after a crash that broke his upper left arm, officials say.

Mike Schatz, 56, of New England, said Monday he intends to plead guilty. The accident was his first alcohol-related offense, he said. He said there were no passengers in his minivan.

"I made an error in judgment. I made a bad decision," Schatz said. "I really regret it."

The Highway Patrol said Schatz was hurt after he lost control of his minivan while trying to make a sharp left turn on a Stark County road at about 1 a.m. on June 21. Schatz said the accident happened near the Hettinger County line between midnight and 1 a.m.

The vehicle went into a steep ditch and rolled. Schatz said he was knocked unconscious, and that a passerby discovered the wreck and called for help. He remembers almost nothing about the accident, Schatz said Monday.

Schatz is the North Dakota Republican Party's western deputy director and a candidate for the North Dakota House in District 36, which includes most of Stark County and parts of Dunn, western Morton and western Hettinger counties. He served in the House during the 1989 Legislature.

Michael Bommarito, the party's executive director, said Schatz was put on a two-week leave June 23. Bommarito and Gary Emineth, the state GOP chairman, said no decisions have been made about whether Schatz will keep his party job.

"I just wanted to give him time to deal with his personal issues and to get well," Emineth said.

Schatz said his left arm was broken above the elbow, his left ear required stitches, and he suffered a number of cuts from flying glass. He will probably need surgery to have a pin inserted in his injured arm, he said. Schatz is right-handed.

He intends to continue his House campaign, and the future will tell whether he keeps his GOP position, Schatz said.

"We will reevaluate and see where the job is," he said. "I will do whatever is best for the party."

Schatz, a former high school coach, led the New England Tigers to four Class B football championships, in 1988 and 1995-97. His coaching career included a 47-game winning streak.

Schatz declined comment about where he had been drinking before the accident, or about how long and how much he imbibed. He said he had been attending a party with friends. He was tired and his drinking did not help matters, he said.

"It wasn't that much, but it was enough," he said. "It is nobody's fault but mine."