Heidi Heitkamp
| Heidi Heitkamp | ||
 | ||
| U.S. Senate, North Dakota | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| January 3, 2013-Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 3, 2019 | ||
| Years in position | 0 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Predecessor | Kent Conrad (D) | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $174,000/year | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | November 6, 2012 | |
| Next election | November 2018 | |
| Campaign $ | $5,638,438 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Prior offices | ||
| North Dakota Attorney General | ||
| 1992-2000 | ||
| Tax Commissioner | ||
| 1986-1992 | ||
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | University of North Dakota | |
| J.D. | Lewis & Clark Law School | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | October 30, 1955 | |
| Place of birth | Mantador, North Dakota | |
| Net worth | $3,499,544 | |
| Religion | Catholic | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Contents |
Career
- 2001-present: Dakota Gasification, director
- 1992-2000: North Dakota attorney general
- 1986-1992: North Dakota insurance commissioner
- 1981-1986: North Dakota Tax Commissioner Office, attorney
- 1980-1981: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, attorney[2]
Education
- Bachelor's degree, University of North Dakota
- Juris doctorate, Lewis & Clark Law School[2]
Committee Memberships
U.S. Senate
2013-2014
Heitkamp serves on the following Senate committees[3]:
- Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
- Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources
- Subcommittee on Jobs, Rural Economic Growth and Energy Innovation
- Subcommittee on Commodities, Markets, Trade and Risk Management
- Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment
- Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development
- Subcommittee on Economic Policy
- Indian Affairs
- Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
- Subcommittee on Emergency Management, Intergovernmental Relations, and the District of Columbia
- Subcommittee on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Federal Programs and the Federal Workforce
- Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
- Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Issues
Specific votes
Expanded background checks on gun sales
On April 17, 2013 the U.S. Senate took a vote on and defeated a measure that would have expanded federal background checks for firearms purchases.[4] The vote was 54-46, with supporters falling six votes short of the required 60-vote threshold.[5] Heitkamp was one of the 4 Democratic Senators who voted against the amendment.[6]
In defense of her vote she said, “I think I always had a reputation as somebody who will listen, somebody who is pretty independent-minded but also believes that at the end of the day, you got to listen to your constituents. In this office, the calls literally were before the last day at least 7 to 1 against that bill. This was after a series of very extensive ad campaigns done in my state saying call me and tell me to support it.”[7]
As a result of the vote, Heitkamp was targeted by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group funded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The group is running ads in Alaska, Arkansas, and North Dakota, three of the states with Democratic senators who voted against the bill on expanded background checks for gun sales.[8]
Political positions
Gay marriage
Sen. Heitkamp has stated that she believes it should be an issue resolved by the states, and previously had not enunciated a position further than that.[9]
On April 5, 2013 Heitkamp emailed a statement to press outlets switching her position to one of endorsing same-sex marriage.[10] In the statement she said, “In speaking with North Dakotans from every corner of our great state, and much personal reflection, I have concluded the federal government should no longer discriminate against people who want to make lifelong, loving commitments to each other or interfere in personal, private, and intimate relationships.I view the ability of anyone to marry as a logical extension of this belief. The makeup of families is changing, but the importance of family is enduring.”[10]
Elections
2012
Heitkamp defeated Republican candidate Rick Berg in the general election.[11] Heitkamp ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. Senate, representing North Dakota. She ran unopposed in the Democratic primary June 12. The general election was November 6, 2012.[12]
| U.S. Senate, North Dakota, General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Heidi Heitkamp |
50.5% | 161,337 | |
| Republican | Rick Berg | 49.5% | 158,401 | |
| Total Votes | 319,738 | |||
| Source: North Dakota Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Ads
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A Hero like Charlie Weichel
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Pee Wee
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Twelve Years
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Gas Plant
|
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Places
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Heidi's North Dakota
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Polls
2012 Election
A DFM Research poll, conducted July 24-26, 2012 for the state's Democratic Party, showed Heitkamp leading GOP candidate Rick Berg by six points.[19] A Rasmussen poll, conducted July 10-11, 2012, showed Heitkamp trailing GOP candidate Rick Berg by nine points.[20]
| North Dakota's Senate elections, 2012 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response | (July 24-26, 2012) | (July 10-11, 2012) | Average | |||||||||||
| Rick Berg (R) | 44% | 49% | 46.5% | |||||||||||
| Heidi Heitkamp (D) | 50% | 40% | 45% | |||||||||||
| Undecided | 0% | 8% | 4% | |||||||||||
| Number polled | 400 | 400 | 400 | |||||||||||
| Margin of error | +/-4.9 | +/-5% | 4.95% | |||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org | ||||||||||||||
| US Senate in North Dakota, General election candidates | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response | Valley News Live/ Mason-Dixon Poll (October 3-5, 2012) | Forum Communications (October 12-15, 2012) | Rassmussen Reports (October 23, 2012) | Pharos Research Group (October 26-28, 2012) | NBC North Dakota News/ Mason-Dixon (October 26-28,2012) | Average | ||||||||
| Rick Berg | 47% | 50% | 50% | 47.7% | 47% | 48.34% | ||||||||
| Heidi Heitkamp | 47% | 40% | 45% | 49.9% | 45% | 45.38% | ||||||||
| Other | 0% | 5% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | ||||||||
| Undecided | 6% | 5% | 5% | 2.4% | 0% | 3.68% | ||||||||
| Number polled | 625 | 500 | 600 | 752 | 625 | 620.4 | ||||||||
| Margin of error | +/-4 | +/-4.3% | +/-4% | +/-3.5% | +/-4% | 3.96% | ||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org | ||||||||||||||
Campaign donors
Comprehensive donor information for Hietkamp is available dating back to 2012. Based on available campaign finance records, Hietkamp raised a total of $5,638,438 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 25, 2013.[21]
| Heidi Heitkamp's Campaign Contribution History | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| 2012 | U.S. Senate (North Dakota) |  |
$5,638,438 | |
| Grand Total Raised | $5,638,438 | |||
Breakdown by Year
2012
Heitkamp won election to the U.S. Senate in 2012. During that election cycle, Heitkamp's campaign committee raised a total of $5,638,438 and spent $5,493,544.[22]
| U.S. Senate, North Dakota, 2012 - Heidi Heitkamp Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $5,638,438 |
| Total Spent | $5,493,544 |
| Total Raised by Election Runner-up | $6,502,926 |
| Total Spent by Election Runner-up | $6,344,251 |
| Top contributors to Heidi Heitkamp's campaign committee | |
| Motley Rice LLC | $46,750 |
| Council for a Livable World | $31,345 |
| Weitz & Luxenberg | $22,400 |
| Robbins, Geller et al | $15,050 |
| Service Employees International Union | $15,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $596,628 |
| Leadership PACs | $323,918 |
| Women's Issues | $168,287 |
| Retired | $154,672 |
| Lobbyists | $120,885 |
Analysis
Lifetime missed votes
According to the website GovTrack, Heitkamp missed 1 of 96 roll call votes from Jan 2013 to Apr 2013, which is 1.0% of votes during that period. This is better than the median of 1.7% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving.[23]
Net worth
2011
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Heitkamp's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $1,856,088 to $5,143,000. That averages to $3,499,544, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Senators in 2011 of $20,795,450.[24]
Personal
Heitkamp and her husband Darwin have two children.
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Heidi + Heitkamp + North Dakota + Senate
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
External links
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial:
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Legislation:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Works by or about:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
References
- ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, North Dakota"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 National Journal "North Dakota, Senate, Heidi Heitkamp (D)," November 7, 2012
- ↑ Congressional Quarterly "Senate Committee List" Accessed January 18, 2013
- ↑ NPR "Senate Rejects Expanded Background Checks For Gun Sales" Accessed April 19, 2013
- ↑ Fox News "Background check plan defeated in Senate, Obama rips gun bill opponents" Accessed April 19, 2013
- ↑ NPR "Historically Speaking, No Surprise In Senate Gun Control Vote" Accessed April 19, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedgunvote - ↑ Politico, " Gun control ads have Democrats worrying," May 7, 2013
- ↑ Huffingtonpost.com "Gay Marriage Rights: The 10 Democratic Senators Who Still Say No" March 2013
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Politico "2 more Democratic senators endorse gay marriage" Accessed April 9, 2013
- ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, North Dakota"
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State-2012 Primary Results
- ↑ YouTube channel
- ↑ YouTube channel
- ↑ YouTube channel
- ↑ YouTube channel
- ↑ YouTube channel
- ↑ YouTube channel
- ↑ The Hill "Dem poll: Heidi Heitkamp up by 6 in North Dakota" Accessed August 7, 2012
- ↑ Rasmussen Reports "Election 2012: North Dakota Senate" Accessed July 16, 2012
- ↑ Open Secrets "Career Fundraising for Heidi Heitkamp" Accessed March 2013
- ↑ Open Secrets "Heidi Heitkamp 2012 Election Cycle," Accessed March 4, 2013
- ↑ GovTrack, "Heidi Heitkamp" Accessed April 2013
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org "Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), 2011," accessed February 22, 2013
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kent Conrad (D) |
U.S. Senate - North Dakota 2013-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
North Dakota Attorney General 1992-2000 |
Succeeded by - |
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