“He begged me”: Cramer Tries to Muddy the Waters About Motivations for Senate Run

Kevin Cramer previously admitted he got into the race because of Harold Hamm

(BISMARCK, ND) — Kevin Cramer (R-Harold Hamm) really, really wants some love from President Donald Trump. But it looks like he’s going about it all the wrong ways – last month, he lashed out at the president’s top aide for GOP legislative failures.

Now, he’s even telling the Associated Press that the president “begged” him to run for the Senate – wining and dining him at a fancy, Washington, D.C. meal.

But we all know that Cramer didn’t get into the race for the president or for, you know, North Dakotans – as WDAY reported, Cramer got into the race at the urging of out-of-statebillionaire, Harold Hamm.

That’s right – it wasn’t the president or his constituents that got him into the race. It was a pledge from an out-of-state billionaire to bankroll his campaign that got Cramer to do an about-face on his Senate campaign.

“Make no bones about it – Kevin Cramer is so full of Kevin Cramer that he actually thinks he’s better than the president, this time claiming that the president ‘begged’ him to get into the race. But Cramer has been and always will be more motivated by his own pocketbook, getting into the race only when an out-of-state billionaire asked him to,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “Cramer has never been interested in getting results for North Dakota, and his ineffectiveness was center stage has the Farm Bill failed spectacularly in the House. Cramer should spend less time currying favor with Harold Hamm and more time working across the aisle — and maybe even with the president — to pass a strong Farm Bill that’ll give certainty to North Dakota’s ag producers.”

When deciding not to run for Senate the first time, Cramer had said he couldn’t effectively fight for a strong Farm Bill at the same time he ran a competitive statewide campaign. And it looks like he’s right – Cramer failed to pass a Farm Bill in the House. It just looks like a fat campaign contribution from Harold Hamm was more important than the wellbeing of North Dakota farmers and ranchers.