National media is begrudgingly starting to grasp how Heidi Heitkamp is in a no-win situation when it comes to confirming Judge Kavanaugh.
Reuters reviewed the impact of Judge Kavanaugh on the North Dakota Senate race, and to say it’s a nightmare scenario for Heitkamp would be an understatement. Polls this week revealed 56% and 60% of North Dakotans want Kavanaugh confirmed, but no matter what she chooses, Heitkamp is going to lose significant chunks of the electorate.
Here’s Reuters’ take on the damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation Heitkamp faces:
“If Heitkamp, one of the most vulnerable Democrats in this year’s congressional midterm elections, rejects Kavanaugh, as she has hinted, she risks alienating conservative voters including independent and Democratic-leaning women who support Kavanaugh in a state Trump carried by 36 points in the 2016 presidential election.
A “yes” vote, however, might provoke a backlash among her core supporters that could depress Democratic turnout in her bid for a second term.
‘Her Kavanaugh vote is a real risk for her,’ said Kathy Burns, 47, a conservative who has followed the dramatic confirmation hearings and likes Heitkamp but is undecided about who to back in November.”
The story continues with a look at the all-important North Dakota Trump voters.
“’If Heidi Heitkamp votes no, I think it’s really going to hurt her here,’ said Mary Fox, 53, a Trump voter shopping 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 a majority of voters across the state support Kavanaugh.
OUCH.
Read the full story HERE.