(BISMARCK, ND) — After Congressman Cramer made clear that an out-of-state billionaire– and not the overtures of President Trump – pushed him into the race, Cramer has been busy begging President Trump for his attention on the campaign trail. But when his overtures haven’t worked, or he’s cornered on bad policy, Cramer is prone to throwing clumsy and petulant insults at the White House – and the president himself.

Ahead of President Trump’s visit to North Dakota, here’s a look back at Cramer’s greatest tantrums when he’s forgotten his fidelity to the president and let his emotions get the best of him:

• When President Trump liked Heidi too much. When Cramer thought President Trump was working with Senator Heidi Heitkamp too much, Cramer seethed and blamed the White House for Republican failures in Congress – delivering what Cramer called a “shot across the bow”:

  “If Marc Short was very good at his job, you know, we’d have a repeal and replacement of Obamacare,” Cramer said in a surprising display of animosity toward a White House official.

• When he was mad at the president for changing his mind. After President Trump changed his mind on immigration legislation, Cramer vented to the Wall Street Journal, insinuating President Trump was an amateur, inexperienced president:

  “This is one of the consequences of having a commander-in-chief who has never been in politics before. […] It’s difficult sometimes when you get out there on a limb for him on CNN or Fox Business and then have him change his mind the next day or two.”

• When the president is pushing a trade war that would be devastating for North Dakota. Before Congressman Cramer tweeted – then quickly deleted his “opposition” to President Trump’s trade war – Cramer was on the fence about the harmful policy and lobbed insults about President Trump’s policy judgement, calling the president’s reactions “emotional” and short-sighted before rushing to walk back his attack:

  “So, yes, there are these short-term sort of emotional reactions by the markets and others, and frankly, by the president himself.  And this is one of my concerns again. He tends to have rather emotional responses rather than you know sort of long game more thought out perhaps communication.”

Cramer Once Again Proves He Can’t Be Trusted; Would Rather Pad His Own Pockets Than Get Results for North Dakota

(BISMARCK, ND) — Today, Attorney General candidate and Grand Forks attorney David Thompson filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) citing numerous violations made by Kevin Cramer and his campaign. Cramer is no stranger to skirting ethics rules – earlier this year, the Dem-NPL filed an ethics complaint for Cramer’s misuse of taxpayer dollars. Additionally, Cramer has faced criticism for having family on campaign payroll and reimbursing himself hundreds of thousands of dollars – a practice ethics watchdogs called ‘morally kind of sticky.’

“What’s clear is that Kevin Cramer is a crooked Washington politician who has used his campaign committee as a get-rich-quick scheme to con North Dakotans,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the Democratic-NPL. “This latest concerning violation is yet another example of Cramer’s unethical behavior, and he owes the voters answers and full transparency. Just because he’s a politician doesn’t mean Cramer is above the rules – we hope the FEC will look into this manner in a timely fashion.”

The recent FEC complaint addresses three potential violations of election rules:

1. IMPROPER PER DIEM: Congressman Cramer is not allowed to pay himself a stipend from his campaign account. But his pre-primary FEC report showed his campaign’s use of per diems.

   As a federal officeholder, Congressman Cramer is prohibited from receiving any salary or stipend from his campaign. However, the campaign reimbursed him $253.00 for “per diem” meals. The per diem notation suggests that the reimbursement was not for the actual cost of any meals actually paid for, but rather a stipend.  This is impermissible and does not comply with FEC rules.

2. IMPLAUSIBLE MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENTS TO KEVIN AND KRIS CRAMER: The campaign’s reimbursement of $1,152.75 to Representative Cramer and $531.38 to Kris Cramer for first quarter mileage expenses is highly unusual and almost implausible.

   Using the Internal Revenue Service’s mileage rate of 54.5 cents per mile, Congressman Cramer would have had to have driven more than 2,115 miles during the months of January, Februaryand March of 2018 for the reimbursement to be valid as a campaign-related expense. Additionally, Congressman Cramer’s wife, Kris – who has recently been on campaign payroll – would have had to have driven almost 1,000 miles during the months of January, February and March of 2018.

   It is highly unlikely that Congressman Cramer and his wife drove more than 3,115 miles in the first quarter of 2018 for campaign purposes. 3,115 miles represents a distance further than driving from Bismarck, North Dakota to Corpus Christi, Texas and back.

   Such a distance is especially unusual for Congressman Cramer, given that Congress was in session the overwhelming majority of days during the first quarter of 2018 and given Congressman Cramer’s obligation to attend to his official duties in Washington, D.C. and in North Dakota. As you are likely aware, former Congressman Aaron Schock came under fire for fudging mileage expensive.

3. IMPROPER TIMING ON REIMBURSEMENTS: Congressman Cramer appears to have failed to report a number of expenses within the required reporting period. He should pay these reimbursements back to the FEC to be in compliance with the rules.

Volunteers, Organizers, and Candidates will reach out to 12,000 voters on the day of Trump’s rally

(BISMARCK, ND)  — While President Trump is slated to take the stage at Fargo’s Scheels Center (capacity ~6,000), the North Dakota Democratic-NPL will be pounding the pavement with volunteers and organizers to double the rally’s outreach.

With Day of Action Events planned for Bismarck, Fargo, and Grand Forks on Wednesday, June 27, volunteers will be knocking on doors throughout the day to listen to voters and talk about the issues they care about most.

Interested volunteers can visit demnpl.com to sign up.

“If President Trump and Congressman Cramer think North Dakotans are going to welcome them with open arms after their repeated assaults on North Dakota’s rural economy, they can think again,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “Our base is energized, our volunteers are excited, and our candidates are ready to criss-cross their districts and this state to earn every vote. This campaign will be won on the ground, and the party has the infrastructure to support volunteers in all four corners of the state. While President Trump talks at the 6,000 people in the Scheels Center, the North Dakota Democratic-NPL will be listening to twice as many voters.”

(BISMARCK, ND) — This week, Congressman Kevin Cramer earned Four Pinocchios from the Washington Post – their worst possible rating, reserved for “whoppers” – for lying about the Washington Republican tax bill’s impact on the national debt. Glenn Kessler, the Post’s fact checker, even called Cramer’s claims “poppycock.” See for yourself below:

Washington Post: N.D. Republican’s Senate campaign ‘fact-checking’ website promotes false claim on CBO estimates

• Cramer’s website is simply wrong when he claims the deficits projected do not take into account the economic growth in Trump’s agenda. The CBO does take into account the economic feedback from tax cuts. As any mainstream economist will explain, the problem is that tax cuts do not pay for themselves.

• For a website that proclaims it is providing the truth and nothing but the facts, this line about the tax cuts and economic growth is poppycock. The CBO does take into account the economic effect of tax bills, so Cramer is simply wrong on that score. It’s even worse for a politician to suggest he is a deficit hawk — and ready to take on entitlements — and yet dismiss credible forecasts on future deficits by a respected agency.

• In the meantime, Cramer earns Four Pinocchios.

On the flip side, Senator Heidi Heitkamp was fact-checked by the Associated Press (AP) about her new ad, “Answer.” The AP found that Heidi was correct about her voting record. Read more below:

Associated Press: AP FACT CHECK: It’s true Heitkamp votes often with Trump

• In a television ad released last week, Heitkamp speaks directly to viewers and says she’s voted more than half the time with Trump.

• THE FACTS: It is true that Heitkamp has voted a majority of the time with Trump since he took office on Jan. 20, 2017.

• The AP reviewed Heitkamp’s voting record on all bills and nominations from Trump’s inauguration to June 1, 2018. During that period, the North Dakota senator supported Trump-backed nominees or legislation more than 68 percent of the time. Presidential nominations for judges, cabinet members and other Trump administration appointees make up a bulk of the voting record.

“We want them to understand that the tariffs have a negative impact on US oil and gas industry. […] You can’t be promoting and maximising the production of energy while also imposing tariffs”

(BISMARCK, ND) – The president’s trade war could have unintended consequences for North Dakota’s oil industry, undermining yet another key industry in the Peace Garden State. With the state’s farmers bracing for a painful year and businesses statewide already feeling the pressure, North Dakota’s oil industry appears to be next on the chopping block. Unfortunately for the state’s many energy producers, the effects could be twofold.

Companies in the Bakken rely heavily on imported metals – with the president applying tariffs on imported steel from Canada, Mexico, and the European Union, the cost of doing business could soon be going up.

On top of that, American oil producers are fearful of losing business in one of the fastest growing markets in the world, as oil exports to China – currently totaling nearly $1 billion per month – appear to be the next in line for retribution in administration’s escalating trade war. This “tit-for-tat petroleum diplomacy” could make American oil less competitive than oil from Russia and the Middle East, bringing down profitability for American companies.

Rather than fighting for North Dakota’s most important industries, Kevin Cramer has been fully supportive of the president’s dangerous and misguided trade policies. Making matters worse for Cramer, his finance chair and the reason he decided to run for Senate, Harold Hamm, had to pull out of a meeting with OPEC in the days after China promised retaliation on U.S. oil products.

“From farmers, manufacturers, and energy producers, Kevin Cramer’s support for the administration’s trade war is hitting all sides of North Dakota’s economy,” said Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. “Even as our top industries come under fire, Cramer continues to cheerlead a trade war. North Dakotans are already hurting from these policies, but Crooked Cramer continues to double down – but North Dakotans won’t forget that he stood for himself and against North Dakota’s economic interests in November.”