In North Dakota, Kavanaugh's debate tests the Democratic wave and #MeToo

In North Dakota, Kavanaugh's debate tests the Democratic wave and #MeToo https://www.eresviral.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/En-Dakota-del-Norte-el-debate-de-Kavanaugh-pone-a-prueba-la-ola-demócrata-y-MeToo

In North Dakota, Kavanaugh's debate tests the Democratic wave and #MeToo







FARGO, N.D. (Reuters) - Heidi Heitkamp has faced seemingly impossible odds to win before. In the 1990s, as the state's attorney general, he looked to the tobacco industry, leading efforts to negotiate a multi-billion dollar deal. In the 2000s, she overcame breast cancer. 











FILE PHOTO: Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) speaks with reporters before the weekly policy meals at the Capitol in Washington, USA. UU., July 24, 2018. REUTERS / Aaron P. Bernstein / Stock Photo





But for the popular Democratic senator from North Dakota, 62, who is running for re-election in a largely rural and conservative state that energetically backed Donald Trump for the president in 2016, partisan war The confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh The Supreme Court of the United States presents a seemingly intractable dilemma. 

Five weeks before the November 6 election, your decision on Trump's election could come at your own risk, whether you vote yes or no. 

If Heitkamp, ​​one of the most vulnerable Democrats in this year's congressional midterm elections, rejects Kavanaugh, as he hinted, he runs the risk of alienating conservative voters, including independent women and Democrats who support Kavanaugh in a State trump by 36 points in 2016. presidential elections. 

However, a "yes" vote could provoke a backlash among its main supporters that could depress the participation of Democrats in their bid for a second term.  





"Your vote of Kavanaugh is a real risk for her"

    Kathy Burns, 47





"Her vote for Kavanaugh is a real risk to her," said Kathy Burns, 47, a conservative who has followed the dramatic confirmation hearings and likes Heitkamp, ​​but is not sure who to turn to in November. She said she is not sure if she believes Kavanaugh or Christine Blasey Ford, who says she sexually assaulted her when they were high school students in 1982. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations. 

"A lot of people like Kavanaugh and Trump," he added. 

It's another dilemma for Democrats who face a narrow path to win the Senate to Republicans next month.   

While the #MeToo movement and the wrath for Trump have encouraged many women to participate in politics this year, the debate over Kavanaugh is more divisive in the conservative swaths of the country. In North Dakota and other states where Trump won by wide margins and remains popular, many women are skeptical of sexual assault allegations against him and could punish headlines who attempt to derail his confirmation. 

For a Democratic Party that has gained ground nationally, North Dakota illustrates the boundaries of the "Blue Wave" and, potentially, the boundaries of the #MeToo movement that has allowed women to talk about sexual misconduct. 

"If Heidi Heitkamp votes no, I think it will really hurt her here," said Mary Fox, 53, a Trump voter who buys at a Target store in downtown Fargo, the state's most populous city.  

Fox's opinion was echoed in interviews with a dozen women voters in Fargo and in several recent polls that found that the majority of voters across the state support Kavanaugh. 

A poll, conducted by the Republican Public Opinion Strategies survey after Kavanaugh and Ford presented their side in very emotional audiences in Washington last week, found that 56 percent of North Dakota voters supported Kavanaugh's confirmation in comparison with the 26 percent who opposed it. Among women voters, 50 percent wanted to see him in the Supreme Court and 29 percent said he should be rejected. 

Opposition to Kavanaugh is much stronger nationally. A Reuters / Ipsos poll published on Sunday found that 41 percent of American adults oppose Kavanaugh by the Supreme Court. 

The Heitkamp campaign did not respond to Reuters' requests for an interview. 

"INDEPENDENT LEADERSHIP" 

Heitkamp, ​​a lawyer and businesswoman with a long history in North Dakota politics, described the decision as difficult and welcomed the weeklong investigation the FBI is conducting on the allegations before the Senate votes on the nomination of Kavanaugh. 

His campaign criticized his Republican opponent, US Representative Kevin Cramer, for his quick endorsement of Trump's candidate. 

"The people of North Dakota know they can count on Heidi for independent leadership. "It puts politics aside and holds veterinarians accountable and considers candidates to serve on the highest court on our land," Julia Krieger, communication director for the Heitkamp campaign, said in a statement. 

The two candidates are scheduled to meet for their first debate on Friday. 

Cramer, a three-term congressman who led the pollster by up to 10 percentage points, dismissed Ford's accusations as "absurd." In a telephone interview on Monday, Heitkamp "has to vote for Kavanaugh." 

"At least I have an opinion on this," he said. "She has tried to play this shy thing, Brett Kavanaugh is very solid for North Dakota, it's an identity dilemma he has in North Dakota." 

Kavanaugh's nomination drama comes at a difficult time for Heitkamp. 

She has been attacked by ads and money from outside groups supporting Kavanaugh, including a television and digital ad published on Tuesday by the Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative defense group that pressures Democrats in the Republican states to confirm Kavanaugh. 

Last week, about 20 people demonstrated in front of their campaign office in Fargo demanding that they vote no, Krieger said. 

VOTERS "JOLTADOS" 

Tyler Axness, a former Democratic senator from the state who now hosts a daily talk show on the radio, said the calling voters had been "shaken" by the accusations against Kavanaugh and were divided on the issue. 

The accusations could give Heitkamp enough political coverage to vote no, he said. But, he added, "it will be up to her to explain why she did that."  







Senator Heidi Heitkamp at Jamestown College, Jamestown, North Dakota, April 6, 2018. REUTERS / Dan Koeck





That is an opinion shared by Diane Hartman, 69, a voter who describes herself as an independent and supports Heitkamp. She said that Kavanaugh's emotional and, at times, angry behavior during her testimony could make it easier for Heitkamp to reject him. "If he votes yes, he will lose many Democrats," Hartman said. 

Heitkamp was one of three Democratic senators who voted to confirm Trump's first Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, last year. The other two also face tough election fights this year. 

Joe Manchin of West Virginia has not said how he will vote. Joe Donnelly of Indiana said he will vote against Kavanaugh. A Donnelly campaign assistant, speaking on condition of anonymity, said one factor in Donnelly's decision was his concern about Kavanaugh's temper after his testimony last week. 

The voters of North Dakota said that their senator faced a difficult task. 

Barb Nelson, 69, a retired self-styled independent, said she was not impressed with Kavanaugh and planned to vote for Heitkamp, ​​but that she had many friends who would be upset if the senator voted against the candidate. 

"North Dakota is quite Republican, it's a very difficult decision for her." 

The Democrats tried to spin the issue in favor of Heitkamp with a new digital ad criticizing Cramer for saying in a radio interview that Kavanaugh and Ford were teenagers at the time of the alleged assault, and "supposedly it was an attempt or something that He never went anywhere. " 

The ad shows women who listen to Cramer's comments and react to them. A woman at the end of the ad says: "He does not treat everyone equally." 

Bo Wood, a professor of political science at the University of North Dakota, said he believes Heitkamp will finally reject Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. "His main supporters will demand that he vote against Kavanaugh," Wood said. 





Tim Reid report; Edited by Colleen Jenkins and Lisa Shumaker





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