Congressman Rick Berg (R) decided not to seek re-election to the
House of Representatives only two years after winning the seat. The chance to sit in the open
Senate seat was just too tempting and he is now in a tough race with former
North Dakota Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp (D).
The result of Berg's decision is that is now an open Congressional seat in the state as well.
North Dakota has only one seat in the
House of Representatives chosen at large by the voters of the state. For many years it was held by the
Democrats until
Rick Berg (R) wrested it away from
Earl Pomeroy (D).
The choice for President in North Dakota seems a foregone conclusion Since 1964, they have always voted
Republican.
Mitt Romney can probably call this one of the safer states he has.
This doesn't mean there isn't room for
Democrats. For a time, the state had two Democrats in the
Senate and one in the
House of Representatives. In the past two years that dropped to only one:
Senator Kent Conrad (D). He retired this year.
Exciting times for North Dakota. The
Republicans have chosen a candidate close to the Tea party movement. Kevin Cramer, Commissioner of the
North Dakota Public Service Commission that regulates utilities, is a two time loser in running for the Congressional. Most of his jobs since the 1990s have come from state posts tied to the Republican governor.
The Democrats have chosen
Pam Gulleson, a fifth generation farmer and presently a staff officer of the
North Dakota Farmers Union. She served in North Dakota House of Representative from 1993 to 2009 as well as chief of staff to former
Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan for nine years.
There have been no recent polls out on this election race but some media are calling it an competitive race. There may be some ticket splitting as voters weigh a vote for
Romney with how they vote for the Senate and House of Representatives.
In terms of Canada, it appears that both candidates are strong supporters of the oil and coal industry. How this plays out for Canada is anyone's guess but pipelines are a debate that will have happen after this election take place.
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