Underdog Sen. Heidi Heitkamp barely defeated her Republican rival on Election Day – the margin of victory was 1 percentage point.
The independent-leaning Democrat “ran a pitch-perfect campaign,” according to Politico, which enabled her to squeeze past Rep. Rick Berg in a state where Republicans expected to gain a seat.
During her “longshot” campaign, Ms. Heitkamp distanced herself from the Obama administration, criticizing the president for not supporting coal and oil – two of North Dakota’s main industries. Before running for Senate, Heitkamp was director of a Dakota Gasification plant, which takes carbon dioxide from coal processing and sends it to Canada for use in oil extraction – a process used in clean coal technology.
“Is there such a thing as clean coal?” Chris Matthews asked her in an interview.
“You betcha,” she replied.
Heitkamp defines herself as a moderate intent on breaking partisan gridlock in Congress.
“Partisan gridlock in Congress this year was so strong that it claimed the farm bill. Never mind that the farm bill supports 16 million jobs across the country and that agriculture is one of the few bright spots in our economy,” she wrote in an editorial for The Hill. “As the next senator from North Dakota, my No. 1 job is to see a farm bill finally passed and signed into law. Agriculture is still king in North Dakota, and a farm bill means our farmers and ranchers will have a stable crop insurance program they can rely on heading into next season.”
Assigned to the Agriculture Committee, Heitkamp will get her chance to influence farm legislation. Her other committee assignments include Banking, Homeland Security, Small Business, and Indian Affairs.
Heitkamp wrote in her op-ed that when she was Attorney General (1992 to 2000), working across the aisle “wasn’t a luxury but a way of life.” During her tenure, she worked on the national settlement with the tobacco industry. North Dakota has received $336 million so far in the settlement, which has helped fund antismoking campaigns aimed at teenagers, contributed to a schools trust fund, and supported projects to deliver clean water to households.
Her campaign got a boost from former President Bill Clinton, who stumped on her behalf in North Dakota, calling her a “common-sense bipartisan.” In a radio ad, he touted her record as Attorney General, saying she even beat the Fish and Wildlife Service in court during his presidency.
