North Dakota 2018 Election Results: Cramer Wins, Pot Vote Fails

FARGO, ND — Incumbent U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat who was first elected in 2012, was defeated by Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer as Republicans walked away with two big wins in the state. Meanwhile, voters chose to keep marijuana unlawful and elected Kelly Armstrong, a Republican state senator, to Cramer's vacated at-large congressional seat.

While the "blue wave" and anti-Trump sentiment failed to give Democrats decisive control of Congress, it did give them enough of a boost to take the U.S. House for the first time in eight years. And the wave, if there was one, didn't make it to North Dakota, even amid record early voting turnout — more than 144,000 people cast their ballots before Election Day — and Republicans clinging to a 51-49 seat majority.

Midterm elections typically see lower turnout, but according to the Bismarck Tribune, that wasn't the case this year, as more people voted early than in 2012 and 2016 — both presidential elections. That appeared to be the trend of the day. Valley News Live reported seeing a room full of voters at 7 a.m. at the Ramada by Wyndham in Fargo. The line was reportedly up to 15 minutes long.

Senate

Republicans eyed North Dakota as a golden opportunity to tighten their grip on the bitterly divided Senate, and they did just that. While incumbent federal lawmakers historically have had little trouble winning re-election, Heitkamp was said to likely become the exception. Cramer was declared the winner Tuesday night with about 56 percent of the vote.

A handful of polls conducted since late August showed Heitkamp trailing Cramer, the most recent of which showed her behing by a whopping 16 points. Furthermore, the election tracking site FiveThirtyEight gave Heitkamp just a 23 percent chance to win.

This might come as no surprise. The state voted overwhelmingly for President Donald Trump and has voted for a Republican presidential candidate in each of the past five elections. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, rated the race as leaning Republican and the news outlet The Hill listed Heitkamp's seat as one of the 10 most likely to flip.

House

Armstrong defeated Democrat Mac Schneider, who stood next to no chance of winning in the deeply red state. The news outlet FiveThirtyEight gave Armstrong a 99.4 percent chance of winning.

State Executives

Several state executive positions are also up for grabs this year, including attorney general and secretary of state.

Republican Incumbent Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has had a stranglehold on the position since 2000. He'll face a challenge from Democrat David Thompson, a trial lawyer from Grand Forks who ran unopposed in the primary.

In the secretary of state race, Republican incumbent Al Jaeger won re-election as an independent against Democratic state Sen. Joshua Boschee. The race saw some intrigue. After 26 years in the position, Jaegar announced he wouldn't seek re-election this year when the state's Republican Party endorsed opponent Will Gardner. Gardner ultimately dropped out of the race days after news outlets dug up a 2006 disorderly conduct incident.

In the race for agriculture commissioner, Republican incumbent Doug Goehring defeated Democratic challenger Jim Dotzenrod with 68 percent of the vote

Democrat Kylie Oversen will try to defeat incumbent Republican Ryan Rauschenberger for tax commissioner and two seats are up for grabs for the state's public service commission. Republicans Randel Christmann and Brian Kroshus will take on Jeannie Brandt and Casey Buchmann.

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