Rep. Kevin Cramer has been North Dakota’s Republican Senate candidate for less than 24 hours — but instead of a victory lap after his win, he’s dealing with more self-inflicted bad headlines amidst his ongoing feud with the White House. Someone should tell Rep. Cramer: whining ≠ winning.
Here’s what North Dakotans are reading:
WDAZ: Commentary: Cramer campaign is under fire on all fronts
By Rob Port | June 12, 2018
- Rep. Kevin Cramer has lately “seemed thin skinned…A feud has erupted between Cramer and the White House.”
- White House Congressional liaison Marc Short “has it out for Cramer, and vice versa.”
- “What voters see is Trump snubbing Cramer and his high-profile Senate race…Trump will be holding a rally in Duluth later this month, but not in North Dakota.”
- Cramer is also facing drama within his base: “Jared Hendrix, a long time operative in North Dakota politics who is a member of Cramer’s campaign staff, has been dabbling in local Republican politics. His boss is suffering the blowback.”
- And Cramer’s first television ad had the candidate saying, “we all like Heidi” — a line Republicans hate. “They remember when another Republican candidate, Rick Berg in 2012, tried the same tactic against Heitkamp. It didn’t work then. It’s not likely to work in 2018.”
Read the full article here.
ND X Plains: Cramer Continues Campaign of Complaints
By Tyler Axness | June 12, 2018
- The Washington Post article exposed “Cramer’s bitterness toward the White House’sappreciation for Heitkamp’s accomplishments and his grasps for reasoning behind it all.”
- “What is the catalyst for these complaints? Heitkamp being at the bill signing ceremony of a banking bill she co-sponsored and helped pass. Cramer called it ‘obscene.’ One could ask why Cramer was even attending this ceremony at all. He wasn’t a co-sponsor of the bill.”
- Cramer “pulled out the woman card. Cramer expresses that he believes Heitkamp gets special treatment because she’s a female. Cramer’s had a past of lashing out at women in prominent roles. What does gender have to do with any of this?”
- North Dakota’s “lone Congressman keeps making awkward complaints and excuses that are unbecoming of the office he seeks. There is a pattern of behavior…It is the public unraveling of his composure that needs our attention.”
New York Magazine: North Dakota’s GOP Senate Candidate Complains That Trump Is Being Too Nice to a Democrat
By Ed Kilgore | June 12, 2018
- “But there was a negative intraparty note sent into the world by the Washington Post, which reports some whining from U.S. Representative Kevin Cramer.”
- “Holding off a bit before going medieval on Heitkamp makes good practical sense, particularly at this early juncture where voters probably aren’t that focused on Senate races anyway. And besides, Cramer’s manifest envy of other GOP candidates who have secured a presidential appearance on their behalf may betray a reluctance to accept that North Dakota is not exactly a prime presidential travel destination.”
- “Cramer has gotten into an amusing public spat with Trump’s legislative director Marc Short, whom he apparently blames for the president’s positive gestures towards his opponent.”
Read the full article here.
Published: Jun 13, 2018