The best candidate of 2012 - North Dakota Democrat Heidi Heitkamp

[TroyD]

November 20

There were a lot of choices for best candidate, but one stood above all the rest. We are giving The Fixy for best candidate of 2012 to North Dakota Sen.-elect Heidi Heitkamp (D) for an unlikely win that defied the Republican tilt of her state.

Mitt Romney easily won North Dakota with 58 percent of the vote. But his margin of victory there over President Obama wasn’t enough to boost Rep. Rick Berg (R) down the ballot. Heitkamp ran a remarkable 11 points ahead of the president to defeat Berg 50 percent to 49 percent.

While part of the disparity between the presidential race in North Dakota and the Senate contest had to do with Berg’s flaws as a candidate, the strength of Heitkamp’s candidacy was a major reason Democrats held onto a seat that once looked poised to fall into Republican hands.

When Sen. Kent Conrad (D) announced his intention to retire in January 2011, it looked like there was another ripe pickup opportunity for the GOP in an increasingly Republican state. In 2010, Republican John Hoeven succeeded Byron Dorgan (D) in the Senate, and Earl Pomeroy (D) was dislodged from the state’s only House seat by Berg. Conrad’s retirement “dramatically reshapes this race in the Republicans’ favor,” a National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman said at the time.

Democrats didn’t wave a white flag. Instead, they recruited Heitkamp, a former state attorney general and candidate for governor. While she began as a decided underdog against Berg, Heitkamp waged a savvy campaign in which she crafted a moderate profile.

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More:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/11/20/the-best-candidate-of-2012/

[aaaaaa5a]

1. Nate Silver said this was the only race in the entire 2012 election cycle that he got wrong.

From Nate's site.



North Dakota

FIVETHIRTYEIGHT PROJECTIONS

Polling average 44.3 48.2 Berg +3.9

Adjusted polling average 45.2 48.1 Berg +2.9

State fundamentals 41.7 50.8 Berg +9.1

Now-cast 43.6 49.3 Berg +5.7

Projected vote share 47.2 52.8 Berg +5.6

Chance of winning 8% 92%

[Robbins]

2. Well

Nate got her and Jon Tester's reelection wrong.He had republicans winning both those seats.ND proved once again It was willing to split votes for president and Senator.

[cntrfthrs]

7. why silver was wrong

silver got it wrong because he used polls from the local press that were all skewed to the repubs. we here in ND also have the 'bubble' that 99.9% of repubs live in and all the large circulation newspapers are right-wing controlled. for those who really want to know what's happening in ND, read chet nodlands blog. northdecoder.com

[CTyankee]

3. I am in awe of this woman! She is a goddess to me (in electoral terms of course!)...

this took courage and I congratulate her on her determination and courage in the face of lots of naysaying about her chances.

You go girl! I will cheer you from now on!

[Cha]

4. Yeah, it's great we got a Dem in ND but beware about her stance during the campaign..

In a state where the energy industry is vital to the economy, Heitkamp made all of the right moves. She blasted Obama’s decision to block the Keystone XL oil pipeline and said the president was “wrong on energy.”

It seems she will be with the Cons on this important Environmental issue.

The Fix gives the Worst Candidate to Rick Perry.. I say Willard Romney is neck and neck!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/11/19/the-worst-candidate-of-2012/

[Midwestern Democrat]

5. I would agree with this. I would put Tammy Baldwin second - she took down the very biggest

weapon the Wisconsin GOP had in their arsenal.

[Jennicut]

6. Her ads were terrific. Very positive and different. She has a great personality.

Probably more moderate then I will ever be but it is North Dakota after all.

I thought Tim Kaine did quite well too. He ran ahead of Obama in VA and probably helped there. And Patrick Murphy. Totally defeated that idiot Allen West.

[VirginiaTarheel]

8. What an awesome winner