Posted on 08/03/2012 11:00:34 AM PDT by neverdem
Most North Dakotans do not like President Obama or his health care law, surveys show. Voters here have not backed a Democrat for president since 1964, and polling forecasts a loss for the White House occupant in November.
But North Dakotans also have a deep history of splitting the ticket. And that, mixed with a strong candidate and a booming economy, makes Democrats hopeful about winning a U.S. Senate seat here, despite the otherwise discouraging atmospherics.
The Senate race figures to be one of the most competitive in the country -- but it wasn’t supposed to be this way.
When veteran Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad announced his retirement last year, Republicans angling for control of the upper chamber saw a prime pickup opportunity...
--snip--
“This race is about facts and not rhetoric,” Berg said in an interview with RCP. “The fact of the matter is, President Obama does not support the Keystone pipeline; it has not come to a vote in the U.S. Senate; and the Senate is a rubber stamp for President Obama.” Berg cited the Senate majority leader’s 2008 comment that “coal makes us sick, oil makes us sick, it’s ruining our country, it’s ruining our world.”...
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
The ND Dems hope for a senate victory hangs on the tale, not that N. Dakotans are happy with the Obama regime, but that they have a “history of splitting the ticket”. I’d be willing to bet that more ND’ns, like everywhere else, vote straight than split.
My parents live in ND and I can tell you, Heidie doesn’t have a chance..
Of course she has a chance....I’m sure the good people of ND, enjoying a booming state economy amongst the wreckage that is the national economy can’t wait to send another demhole to DC to help turn their state into Michigan. .....
Open Senate races are often fairly competitive despite the inherent political lean of the state, but Berg should win by about 8 points.
The last Raspoll for ND had Berg up by 10. I do not go to Real Crappy politics since they include all polls regardless of sampling
Somebody should point out to Caitlin Huey-Burns that all these Rats are RETIRING because they know they are going to lose, and don’t want to spend the big money on the campaign, but instead take it home with them.
The unfortunate demographic is that three cities (Grand Forks, Fargo, and Bismarck) have about half the voters, and none of these have any oil under them.
The rural areas in the west which have oil have been growing, infrastructure funding has been spent to keep roads which have incredibly heavy truck traffic passable 'out west', and Fargo has lost it's prima donna status.
Before, flooding along the Red River has kept the money rolling in, along with the colleges in Fargo and Moorehead and the Air Base in Grand Forks. Note that while Fargo and Grand Forks are served by I-29, Fargo and Bismarck by I-94, the highways leading to the oilfields are of lesser construction, and US 2 was only recently made into a 4-lane highway. Highway 85, the major N/S highway in the region got some passing lanes last year, but is primarily only a two-lane highway, so some money has been spent upgrading these and myriad other roads which have been subjected to a large amount of heavy truck traffic.
With the economic input of the oil producing counties, the balance of power is shifting in the state, from east to west. The response from the Fargo Forum newspaper and others (especially Democrats in non-oil producing counties) has been that the West's newfound prosperity is somehow evil, and measures should be taken to slow that growth down.
While that prosperity has indeed produced growing pains with challenged services and infrastructure, housing shortages, and higher prices, it has also brought with it the sort of economic development which many politicians talk of and few deliver (as if the market did not deliver--they were mainly along for the ride, and decided to go with the flow rather than buck the tide).
Wages are high, the unemployment in the Western part of the state is low (1.8% in Williams County), and business is flourishing despite high rents and housing prices. The shortage of housing is being met by the private sector (if you come, they will build it), and as growth rates slow, that part of the economic picture is approaching equilibrium. Rents will fall as that gets more competitive, and all but high end housing prices will moderate.
I think RCP has greatly exaggerated the popularity of Heitkamp, and this smells of the sort of tactics designed to demoralize opponents.
Yeah, if someone brought up that Countrywide sweetheart super jumbo loan rate Conrad got, well, it just might not go over real well considering where things went from there...
If he’s a Democrat, we’ll be required to tow the full Democrat line, including same-sex “marriage.” Let’s see how THAT is going to work out in ND. ;{)
The Democrat challenger for Ted Cruz in the Texas race has already come out for counterfeit “marriage.” Wow! And he thinks he has a chance in Texas?!
But what will Berg do about today’s charge that he hasn’t paid his taxes in 20 years? And that he sells kiddie porn? And that he killed and ate his mother? It is, after all, his responsibility to disprove these charges...
I am one more that has noticed RCP has gone to the Dark Side since 2010.
If ND ads do not remind voters that voting for Heidi will kill chances of overturning Obamacare, who knows what stubborn voters will do?? The best way to stop this secular socialist is to vote against not only him but ...every Dem rep and Senate candidate. Why voters who hate Bama and his policies cannot see this is beyond me.
If ND ads do not remind voters that voting for Heidie will kill chances of overturning Obamacare, who knows what stubborn voters will do?? The best way to stop this secular socialist is to vote against not only him but ...every Dem rep and Senate candidate. Why voters who hate Bama and his policies cannot see this is beyond me.
I remain shocked that this is even a contest. Rick Berg is turning out to be a dud and I wish that the party had chosen a better candidate, like state AG Wayne Stenehjem.
Berg will win.
Stenehjem turned down the chance to run for the Senate (the nomination was his for the taking).
Besides, as DJ said, Berg will win. I don’t think that it will be particularly close—maybe 54%-45%.
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