What’s Driving North Dakotans to the Polls

(BISMARCK, ND) – This election will come down to who puts North Dakota first, not a political party or personal ambition and on every issue –health care, trade, Social Security and Medicare, and independence – that’s Heidi Heitkamp. Kevin Cramer? He’s put himself first time and again.

HEALTH CARE: Cramer’s health care agenda would be disastrous for North Dakota. If Cramer had his way, North Dakotans ages 50-64 could be charged more for their care, lifetime caps could be reinstated, and folks with pre-existing conditions could be charged exorbitantly more for their care or even be denied coverage outright.

Cramer knows that his agenda is deeply unpopular with North Dakotans – that’s why he’s spent months trying to cover up his real record. But here’s the truth: Cramer’s votes to repeal or undermine the current health care law – including his five votes to repeal it without a replacement – and his support for the partisan lawsuit that would eliminate the current law would jeopardize the protections North Dakotans have come to rely on.

TRADE: Cramer’s decision to put party loyalty over North Dakota has entrenched the state’s farmers, manufacturers, and ranchers in the administration’s disastrous trade war. Since the day he deleted a tweet stating his “opposition to tariffs” – the same day he stated that voting against the president was akin to cheating on your wife – Cramer has been one of the trade war’s biggest cheerleaders, despite clear evidence it’s harming the state:

  • CNBC: ‘Refugee’ soybeans in the Dakotas seek a home after China stops buying because of the trade war
  • Forum: ND ag bankers riding the ‘black swan’: Soy tariff damage will last up to 5 years, economist says
  • Washington Post: North Dakota soybean farmers, caught in the trade war, watch the season run out on their crop

  • Foreign Policy: Trump’s Trade War With China Could Hit Energy Exports

But Cramer doesn’t seem to care. He’s belittled anyone who disagrees with him, accusing farmers of being hysterical and saying they “don’t have a very high pain threshold.” What’s more, his actions and rhetoric “almost derailed” grain grading trade negotiations with Canada.

SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE: Cramer let the truth slip when he admitted that “everything [is] on the table” when it comes to making changes to Social Security and Medicare. But Cramer knows his intentions don’t represent North Dakota values and so, because it’s an election year, he’s trying to paper it over. That’s why he’s earned the nickname “one of the best fudge masters in Washington, D.C.”

PARTY FEALTY: Cramer’s pledge to stand with the president 100 percent of the time is out of step with North Dakota values. Voters in North Dakota don’t want a puppet or loyal lapdog who will do whatever he’s told. They want an independent thinker who will work across the aisle to get results for North Dakota – and that’s Heidi Heitkamp.

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