First-term Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, “has a strong personal brand and Republicans do not yet have a clear challenger,” says the political tip sheet Sabato’s Crystal Ball in previewing the 2018 Senate race in North Dakota. “We’re giving her a boost to ‘Leans Democratic.’ ” In its previous assessment, the tip sheet rated her reelection chances as a toss-up.
“She can generate split tickets in a very tough race,” says Crystal Ball. President Trump carried North Dakota in a landslide, suggesting peril for Heitkamp, who barely won election in 2012. “Despite North Dakota’s strong GOP lean, Democrats have actually won 11 of the state’s last 13 Senate contests, and we think Heitkamp deserves the benefit of the doubt,” says the tip sheet.
State Sen. Tom Campbell announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination last week. Kevin Cramer, North Dakota’s at-large U.S. representative, has not yet decided on his own Senate run. In an electoral oddity, only one Republican member of the Senate Agriculture Committee is up for reelection in 2018 while seven of its 10 Democrats are.