With Heitkamp Touting When She’s Voted With Trump, Cramer Highlights When She Voted Against Him

Late last week Congressman Kevin Cramer’s campaign for the U.S. Senate dropped their first television ad of the 2018 cycle (that previous ad featuring his opponent, incumbent Senator Heidi Heitkamp, shouting her support for former Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was apparently just a digital buy).

Here’s the ad:

According to National Journal reporter Zach Cohen, the Cramer campaign said they moved the timing of this ad ahead. Their cited reason for that was that strong jobs report the nation got last week, but I think there might be another explanation:

Over the last couple of weeks Heitkamp and her various political allies have been pushing hard to paint their candidate as a Trump ally. I’m still laughing at the North Dakota Democratic Party literally mocking Cramer because Heitkamp got to stand closer to the President during the signing of a bank deregulation bill.

Remember, Trump is a man the North Dakota Democrats have described as “vile” and “unfit for office.” You can’t make this stuff up.

So how does Cramer combat Heitkamp’s efforts to align herself with Trump? Highlight a big, big way the Democratic incumbent voted against Trump.

Heitkamp’s vote against the tax reform bill is tough for her “I love Trump” narrative. It demonstrates, I think, that when her fellow Democrats need her vote that’s where her loyalty will be.