North Dakota nasty: GOP makes Heitkamp top target for defeat

BISMARCK, N.D. — Major GOP groups have written him off. His Democratic opponent has more than twice as much cash in the bank, was interviewed for a job in the Trump administration, and has paid more than a half-dozen visits to the White House.

But Rep. Kevin Cramer just might get elected to the Senate, anyway.

Despite the poor electoral environment for conservatives, the political talents of incumbent Sen. Heidi Heitkamp and Cramer’s own flaws, top Republicans routinely rank him as one of their best prospects to seize a Democratic-held Senate seat in 2018. And the reason is simple: North Dakota remains Trump country, and Cramer’s unflinching support for the president might be a more popular play with voters than Heitkamp’s vow to rein him in when she feels she has to.

Though Cramer entered the race only after cajoling from President Donald Trump, the 57-year-old career politician is now plainly relishing the fight against Heitkamp. The first-term Democrat won her Senate race in 2012 by less than 1 percentage point on the strength of her retail campaign skills, independent streak and plainspokenness.

Cramer is trying to turn those assets against her with his own tell-it-like-it-is style.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/20/north-dakota-senate-heitkamp-cramer-gop-787808