Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said on Thursday of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, “Clearly, she decided to vote with Chuck Schumer and not the people of North Dakota.” Cramer’s remarks were sparked by Heitkamp’s announcement that she will oppose Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
Sen. Heitkamp announced Thursday that she will vote against President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court.
“I will be voting no on Judge Kavanaugh,” the North Dakota Democrat said.
Congressman Cramer, who hopes to defeat Sen. Heitkamp in the November midterms of the North Dakota Senate race, told Breitbart News that Heitkamp ultimately chose to vote against North Dakotan’s wishes.
“I’m deeply disappointed with Senator Heitkamp’s decision to vote no on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court,” Rep. Cramer said in a statement on Thursday. “Clearly, she has decided to vote with Chuck Schumer, and not the people of North Dakota,” Cramer added.
Sen. Heitkamp’s decision to vote against Kavanaugh comes as a Fox News survey on Wednesday revealed that Congressman Cramer has a 12-point lead over Sen. Heitkamp. In the last Fox News poll, Cramer only had a four-point lead.
Heitkamp’s decision to vote against Kavanaugh serves as a significant political risk in a state that Donald Trump won by 35 points in the 2016 presidential election. The Fox News poll also found that if Heitkamp were to vote against Kavanaugh, 34 percent would be less likely to vote for her, whereas only 17 percent would be likely to vote for her.
The Judicial Crisis Network (JCN) released a poll Tuesday showing that 56 percent of North Dakotans want Kavanaugh confirmed to the Supreme Court. A majority of independents, 51 percent, also want the nominee added to the Supreme Court. Fifty percent of women want Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court as well.
New data from Republican pollsters have suggested the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court has energized the Republican base. An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found that Republicans have nearly matched Democrat interest in the midterm elections.
Glen Bolger, a GOP pollster, tweeted on Friday:
Seeing a significant jump in GOP voter interest in the elections this week. The Dem intensity advantage is melting away. Two things:
1. I figure it has to be Kavanaugh effect.
2. Remains to be seen if it lasts. GOP campaigns should not assume their turnout concerns are done:
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