Heidi Heitkamp Being Something Less Than Direct About Support For Harry Reid

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Written By:
Rob Port

Jun 8, 2012
9:00am

In an interview with The Hill newspaper, liberal Senate candidate Heidi Heitkamp was asked whether or not she’d vote to keep Senator Harry Reid as majority leader if elected. This is a key question for Heitkamp – who fashions herself a red state, pro-fossil fuel Democrat – as Reid sets a far-left agenda in the Senate and has been openly hostile to oil and coal development.

Unfortunately, Heitkamp couldn’t give The Hill a direct answer to the question:

“When I get to the Senate, I’ll make those decisions,” Heitkamp told The Hill in an interview Thursday. “Today my goal is to visit with North Dakotans, find out what their concerns are, tell them what I believe and what I think is important.”

One of Heitkamp’s staffers reached out later and clarified her position:

Heitkamp’s spokesman reached out later to say that she would vote for Reid.

This is reminiscent of Heitkamp being critical of President Obama publicly, but maintaining that she’ll vote for him again in 2012.

“Look, I’m going there to end the gridlock,” Heitkamp has said of her Senate campaign. “I’m not part of the gridlock.”

Note that she intends to end the gridlock by giving Harry Reid and Barack Obama a bigger majority in the Senate. Is that really what’s best for North Dakota?