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Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who is opposing incumbent U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat, poses with Jocelyn Birklid, Miss Junior Teen North Dakota International, at the Uffda Day celebration in Rutland, N.D., Oct. 7, 2018. In North Dakota and other farm states, the partisan divide over the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh has nationalized the fight for the Senate, elating Republicans and worrying Democrats. (Annie Flanagan/Copyright 2018 The New York Times).

Poll: Cramer Leads Heitkamp by 16 Points

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Poll: Cramer Leads Heitkamp by 16 Points

- 1 day ago - ,

A few weeks ago two independent polls commissioned by media outlets showed Congressman Kevin Cramer with double-digit leads over Democratic Senate incumbent Heidi Heitkamp. One poll from Gray Television showed Cramer with a 10 point lead. A Fox News poll showed Cramer with a 12 point lead. Since then Heitkamp cast a controversial vote against…

Supporters of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) at the Uffda Day parade in Rutland, N.D., Oct. 7, 2018. In North Dakota and other farm states, the partisan divide over the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh has nationalized the fight for the Senate ahead of the midterm election, elating Republicans and worrying Democrats. (Annie Flanagan/Copyright 2018 The New York Times)

Heitkamp Ad Apologizing for Outing Sexual Assault Victims May Have Violated FEC Rules

- October 19, 2018 - ,

Yesterday I wrote about a new print ad from Senator Heidi Heitkamp – one apologizing for her previous print ad outing sexual assault survivors – which was published in the Minot Daily News and elsewhere. There may be some problems with that latest ad, however. Here’s what it looked like in my copy of the MDN:…

Over 700 Sign Open Letter Asking Governor Burgum to Restore North Dakota Old “Legendary” Logo

- October 18, 2018 - ,

Earlier this month Governor Doug Burgum’s office announced the completion of a “refresh” of North Dakota’s brand identity. “To refresh North Dakota’s brand for today’s audiences, adjustments were made to the tagline from Legendary to Be Legendary,” Burgum’s office said in a statement. “The new design will keep parts of the visual elements from the…

Governor Doug Burgum along with First Lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum attending Super Bowl festivities in Minneapolis in 2018. Photo via Twitter

Governor Burgum’s Super Bowl Trip Couldn’t Have Happened Under His Office’s New Ethics Policy

- October 18, 2018 - ,

Earlier this year Governor Doug Burgum, who rode into office on the back of a campaign which castigated a supposed “good old boys club” in Bismarck, accepted a trip to the Super Bowl that was worth roughly $40,000. The trip was paid for by Xcel Energy, which has the largest electrical utility customer base in…

FILE -- Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Aug. 16, 2018. Heitkamp, an endangered Democrat, ran an ad criticizing her opponent for comments about sexual abuse. But it backfired, just three weeks before the midterms. (Erin Schaff/Copyright 2018 The New York Times)

Women Exposed by Heitkamp Ad Form Group to Explore Litigation

- October 16, 2018 - ,

Megan Stoltz was one of the women named, without her permission, as a sexual assault survivor in a recent print ad published by Senator Heidi Heitkamp’s re-election campaign. In fact, Stoltz was actually listed twice in the ad, once by her married name and once by her maiden name. Now, according to a Facebook post,…

Kathleen Wrigley, chair of the Marsy's Law for North Dakota ballot measure, announces Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, in Fargo the measure for the November 2016 ballot with the sooty of area victims' rights advocates. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor

Reminder: Marsy’s Law Is Still an Absolute Mess Which Has Done Very Little to Help Victims

- October 15, 2018 - ,

Back during the 2016 election cycle North Dakota voters cast their ballots overwhelmingly for Marsy’s Law, a constitutional amendment that was the hobby horse of (recently indicted) California billionaire Henry Nicholas. Critics of the measure (including this humble observer) argued that the amendment would make a mess out of existing laws and policies governing the…

FILE -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington on Sept. 12, 2018. Signaling even more strongly her intent to run for president, and to forcefully confront President Donald Trump, Warren on Monday, Oct. 15, 2018, released the results of a DNA test that she said indicated she had Native American ancestry. (Erin Schaff/Copyright 2018 The New York Times)

Elizabeth Warren Should Be Embarrassed

- October 15, 2018 - ,

Senator Elizabeth Warren, perhaps in preparation of a run for the White House in 2020, has launched a campaign this week to address the years-long controversy over her past claims to a Native American heritage. She released a campaign style video (see below), as well as the results of DNA testing which shows “she had…

Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) at the Uffda Day celebration in Rutland, N.D., Oct. 7, 2018. (Annie Flanagan/Copyright 2018 The New York Times)

Kevin Cramer Should Agree to More Debates With Heidi Heitkamp

- October 11, 2018 - ,

For weeks now Democrats have been critical of Congressman Kevin Cramer for not agreeing to more debates with Senate incumbent Heidi Heitkamp. Cramer gets a lot of credit for being one of the most accessible political leaders in North Dakota. The guy hands out his personal cell phone numbers to reporters in the state (and…

President Donald Trump arrives to a rally at the Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pa., Oct. 10, 2018. (Al Drago/The New York Times)

A Political Rally Sounds Like a Fine Place for the President to Be During a Hurricane

- October 11, 2018 - ,

“Trump bets there’s no downside to campaigning as hurricane rages,” reads a headline from CNN. “President Donald Trump tempted fate and nature by declining to cancel an optically risky campaign rally and fundraiser even as the most powerful hurricane in a quarter century thrashed across the Florida Panhandle,” the articles lede proclaims. That’s right. There is political risk…

Jack Dorsey, the chief executive of Twitter, while testifying at a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Sept. 5, 2018. Dorsey, and Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, were testifying on Wednesday about their companies’ response to foreign interference in elections and the moderation of online content. (Eric Thayer/Copyright 2018 The New York Times)

Twitter Isn’t Harming Journalism, Journalists on Twitter Are

- October 10, 2018 - ,

John Ziegler, writing at Mediate, has an interesting piece today headlined “The Top Ten Ways That Twitter Has Greatly Harmed Journalism and Destroyed Our Public Discourse.” An excerpt: I have written before about some of the many problems which exist with Twitter, the platform which now, partly because of President Trump’s love of the outlet,…

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