According to CNN – and others – incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp is fighting for her political life. I wrote about this yesterday when I warned Kevin Cramer supporters to be careful about overconfidence in a bid to oust Heitkamp. So, in her effort to overcome what is being reported as a double-digit deficit, Senator Heitkamp is doubling down in her campaign efforts and sinking a lot of money into advertising.
One of the ads running over… and over… and over again on the radio claims that Cramer raised his own salary by $23,000 while he was a Public Service Commissioner. Anyone who knows a bit of something about North Dakota politics knows that offices such as these don’t set their own salaries.
Not only did this ridiculous ad raise the eyebrows of some of us in North Dakota’s political circles, but even Politifact picked up on it and exposed it for what it is… a falsehood. They rightfully point out that these salaries typically originate from the governor’s office. The governor submits his budget to the State Legislature, who then writes salaries into statute and votes on them. Furthermore, Cramer’s salary increases were part of across the board hikes.
Yet, in spite of the Heitkamp campaign being outed for the falsehood, the ad continues to run… over… and over… and over again. Considering the fact that the pundits are painting such a grim picture for Heidi Heitkamp, I’m not so sure it’s a wise political move in North Dakota to continue spreading something about your opponent that is just blatantly untrue. It reflects poorly on a woman who is asking voters to give her another six years in the U.S. Senate.
But hey, apparently all is fair in love, war… and politics.
Sources:
- https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/10/politics/heidi-heitkamp-kevin-cramer-north-dakota-senate-race/index.html
- https://theminutemanblog.com/2018/10/10/a-warning-to-supporters-of-kevin-cramer-about-overconfidence/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1cwfJYOQok&list=PLYfcWf9j9QO7VBpul_g4WP0nJvVkg0vvW&index=9
- https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/oct/08/heidi-heitkamp/did-kevin-cramer-raise-his-own-salary-23000-no/