North Dakota U.S. Senate- Race of the Day

 North Dakota U.S. Senate

63 Days Until Election Day

Status: Republican Incumbent

2020 Presidential Result: Red State (Midwest)

 

Outlook: Safe Republican

 

There is not much suspense as to whom North Dakota will elect to the U.S. Senate. Six years ago, Republican Kevin Cramer defeated an incumbent by over 10 points, and with that signaled that it will be a very long time before any Democrat wins a federal election, or perhaps any statewide election in North Dakota again. This was the culmination of a long political journey for Cramer. Back in the 1990s, when Democrats still won almost all Congressional races in the Dakotas, he had lost two races for the U.S. House. After that, he achieved political success on the North Dakota Public Service Commission, but in 2010, Cramer fell short once again, when another House attempt saw the Republican nomination go to another candidate.

Two years later, with the statewide House seat open, Cramer tried again and won on his fourth attempt. In 2018, the Congressman was in line to take on and defeat Democrat Heidi Heitkamp. In the Senate, Cramer has mostly been a Trump ally, but eventually disagreed with the former President over the 2020 election being stolen. He openly looked to support another candidate for the 2024 Presidential nomination and eventually endorsed Doug Burgum, his state's Governor, before falling in line with Trump again. The Senator has also faced some personal challenges, Two years ago, he was severely injured and almost lost a hand in a yard work accident. Back in 2018, Cramer had a son die of alcoholism. Some time earlier, Cramer and his wife had adopted the young son of the deceased ex-girlfriend of the son who would later pass away. Late last year, another Cramer son stole a family car and killed a police officer during a chase in North Dakota. The Cramer family cooperated with authorities and told the public that their son suffered from severe mental health disorders.

Despite the troubles within the Cramer family, the Senator should easily be reelected this November in one of America's most Republican states. He did not face a primary, nor did Katrina Christiansen, the Democrats' nominee. An engineering professor, Christiansen, took just 25 percent of the vote two years ago as the party's candidate in a race against North Dakota's other Republican Senator, which also featured an Independent conservative candidate. There is an Independent candidate in 2024 also. Manufacturing executive Kristen Hedger once ran a semi-competitive campaign as the Democrat for North Dakota's Secretary of State in 2006. Now, both women are likely to split whatever vote remains for Democrats in the state, allowing Cramer to win by a huge margin.

U.S. Senate races predicted thus far:

14 D  (7 Safe, 3 Likely,  3 Leans, 1 Tossup)

 8 R   (4 Safe, 2 Likely, 1 Leans, 1 Tossup)

 

Total with predicted thus far:

42 Democrats (28 Holdover, 7 Safe, 3 Likely, 3 Leans, 1 Tossup)

46 Republicans (38 Holdover, 4 Safe, 2 Likely, 1 Leans, 1 Tossup)