N.D. Senate Race Could Be Next National Battleground

National Pulblic Radio ^ | June 6, 2012 | Brian Naylor

[Clintonfatigued]

The conservative group Crossroads GPS aired an ad in North Dakota featuring a video clip it unearthed of Heitkamp from 2008, where she says: "I think Barack Obama's going to be amazing and I think that we are on our way to a better United States." The ad then goes on to say: "Tell Heidi, Obamacare is not the way to a better United States. Support the repeal of Obamacare."

The Crossroads GPS ad is aimed at helping Berg, the Republican, a real estate developer and former state lawmaker who is completing his first term in North Dakota's only U.S. House seat.

Now, he's running for the Senate.

"You know, that's where the problem is right now," says Berg. "I mean, if we want to change America, we've got to change the Senate and we've had over 30 bipartisan bills that we've passed in the House that basically are sitting in the Senate and not being brought up, not being debated. So that has to change."

[Clintonfatigued]

Personalities matter in North Dakota, as conservative as it is politically, and Heidi Heitkamp is a more appealing personality than Rick Berg, which is why this race is more difficult than had been expected. That being said, if Republicans there work and turn out, they’ll win this race.

[Uncle Miltie]

Berg was my State Senator in Fargo, and a neighbor. He’s a normal, straight ahead moderately conservative guy. I’ll be sending him a check.

He can beat Heitkamp, who is just the favorite of people who vote for a candidate’s plumbing or who farm the mailbox.

[Gulf War One]

She had better be appealing. She looks like the back of a bus.

[Recon Dad]

I took this down a minute ago.

When Heidi Heitkamp first jumped into North Dakota’s Senate race, Democrats tried to make a splash with a couple of polls (from Democrat polling firms) showing her beating Rep. Rick Berg who is the endorsed Republican candidate.

Those polls, despite being obvious party propaganda, swayed some political prognosticators for a while (Larry Sabato, in particular, seems taken in by them) but in rankings of Senate races from four different publicans Heitkamp’s candidacy is given pretty short shrift.

The Washington Post, The National Journal and The National Review are all picking Berg over Heitkamp, and you can add The Week to that list as well:

[BfloGuy]

or who farm the mailbox.

Heh.

[Impy]

If Heitkamp is the next Senator then Kate Upton will be my wife and Mila Kunis my mistress.

Please DSCC, waste resources in North Dakota, I beg you.

[Last Dakotan]

He’s a normal, straight ahead moderately conservative guy.

Rick Berg has worked hard to cultivate the personality of latex paint.

That being said, ND is so anti-Obama and the Democrats that it will be at least a 55 to 45% thing.

[ken5050]

This race won't even be close..The Dems are trying to convince themselves they have a chance, based upon some most likely badly skewed polls.

1. Look, Conrad is QUITTING, ( er, retiring) because he didn't think he had a good chance to win, so this Heidi person is gonna do better than Conrad? Same reason that Dorgan quite 2 years ago..he was gonna lose.

2. Obama is SOOOO unpopular in ND that to think that heidi could win requires the assumption that, what, 40% of ND voters SPLIT their ballots..yeh, right

[Uncle Miltie]

“Rick Berg has worked hard to cultivate the personality of latex paint.”

Thereby perfectly representing his constituency. Who I love.