Yesterday Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem authorized the release to me of polling data which, frankly, had few surprises in it. The polling, conducted by the Odney firm which surveyed 400 people with a margin of error of +/- 5 percent, shows Stenehjem with an overall favorability rating north of 80 percent. He has a 79…
Kevin Cramer Might Be North Dakota's Next U.S. Senator
Here’s a bold prediction not for the current election cycle, which is shaping up to be something of a snoozer, but rather the next one where things could get interesting: Rep. Kevin Cramer, who will be running for a third term in office in 2016, will run for the U.S. Senate in 2018. And he will…
Audio: Stenehjem Sounds Like He's Running For Governor, Dem Says His Party May Not Nominate A Candidate
I have a couple of interesting audio clips to share with you this morning (both are embedded above). One is Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem making comments to radio host Scott Hennen that sure make it sound like he’s running for governor. The other is a depressed sounding state senator George Sinner who says that his…
Heidi Heitkamp Isn't Running For Governor, Now What?
Earlier today Senator Heidi Heitkamp announced that she’s not running for governor in 2016 (during a call-in to a left wing radio show from Washington DC, if that didn’t make it obvious what her decision was). Now what? First, let’s look at what this means on the right side of politics. Republicans, even despite the…
Democratic Governor's Association Says They Don't Expect Heitkamp To Run In 2016
With North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple announcing that he’ll be stepping down at the end of his current term the state is facing its first open gubernatorial race since 2000 when John Hoeven (with Dalrymple as his running mate) was elected. Thoughts now turn to who will be running in 2016, and for Democrats the…
Can North Dakota Democrats Win By Focusing On The Legislature?
Earlier this year I had a conversation with one of my Democrat friends, and he told me his party’s focus in the 2016 election cycle was going to be the Legislature. The newly-elected chairwoman of the North Dakota Democrats, state Rep. Kylie Oversen, also said recently in a Forum Communications profile that she intends to…
Video: North Dakota Senate Passes Oil Tax Reform Bill
It was a large video file to upload so it may be a couple of minutes before it appears After roughly three hours of debate, during which Senate Democrats worked to wring every possible drop of political theater out of the proceedings, the state Senate tonight passed an oil tax reform bill as amended in…
On Television: Do Democrats Want To Make Policy Or Make Headlines?
Do Democrats care about making good policy, or making headlines? On my television segment last night with Chris Berg on Valley News Live (watch it here) we discussed the news I broke yesterday regarding legislative Democrats and their treatment of one of their own who broke ranks on the oil tax reform bill. Senator Connie…
Democrats Furious When One Of Their Own Breaks Ranks On Oil Tax Reform
UPDATE: This amendment was passed by the Senate committee on a 6-1 vote. All Republicans on the committee voted yes. The two Democrats split their votes. Dating back to the 2014 campaign season when they were making political hay about “tax cuts for big oil” (they targeted Senator Lonnie Laffen in particular) North Dakota Democrats have invested themselves…
Lawmakers Send Bill Requiring Special Elections For US Senate Vacancies To Governor
The rumor in North Dakota political circles is that U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp wants to return to North Dakota to run for governor in 2016. Confirming how much truth in that rumor is the furious opposition to HB1181 from Democrats in the North Dakota legislature. That bill, introduced by Rep. Roscoe Streyle (R-Minot) would change…