Heidi Heitkamp

Heidi Heitkamp
United States Senator from North Dakota
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2013 Serving with John Hoeven
Preceded by	Kent Conrad
28th Attorney General of North Dakota
In office December 15, 1992 – December 15, 2000
Governor	Ed Schafer
Preceded by	Nicholas Spaeth
Succeeded by	Wayne Stenehjem
20th Tax Commissioner of North Dakota
In office December 2, 1986 – December 15, 1992
Governor	George Sinner
Preceded by	Kent Conrad
Succeeded by	Robert Hanson
Personal details
Born	Mary Kathryn Heitkamp (1955-10-30) October 30, 1955 Breckenridge, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party
Spouse(s)	Darwin Lange[1]
Children	Ali Nathan
Residence	Mandan, North Dakota
Alma mater	University of North Dakota (B.A.) Lewis and Clark College (J.D.)
Religion	Roman Catholic[2]

Mary Kathryn "Heidi" Heitkamp (born October 30, 1955) is the junior United States Senator from North Dakota and a member of the North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party. She served as the 28th North Dakota Attorney General from 1993 to 2001. Heitkamp was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in the 2000 gubernatorial election, losing to John Hoeven. She considered a bid for the Democratic nomination in the 2010 U.S. Senate election to replace retiring Senator Byron Dorgan,^[3] but on March 3, 2010, declined the rematch against Hoeven, who was ultimately elected.^[4]

In November 2011, Heitkamp declared her candidacy to replace Kent Conrad as U.S. Senator from North Dakota in the 2012 election.^[5] She narrowly defeated Republican Congressman Rick Berg on November 6, 2012 in the closest Senate race of that year, with Berg conceding the next day.^[6] She is North Dakota's second female senator, after Jocelyn Burdick, and the first to be elected.^[7]

Early life, education, and early career

Heitkamp was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota, the fourth of seven children of Doreen LaVonne (née Berg) and Raymond Bernard Heitkamp.^[8] Her father was of German descent, while her mother is of half Norwegian and half German ancestry.^[8] Heitkamp was raised in Mantador, North Dakota. She earned a B.A. from the University of North Dakota in 1977 and a J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School in 1980.^[9] In 1980-81, she was an attorney for the United States Environmental Protection Agency.^[10] After that, she was hired by the Office of the North Dakota State Tax Commissioner as an attorney.

In 1986, incumbent State Tax Commissioner Kent Conrad decided to retire in order to run for the U.S. Senate. Heitkamp ran for the position and won the statewide election with 66% of the vote against Republican Marshall Moore.^[11] She served in that position until 1992.

Attorney General

In 1992, the incumbent North Dakota Attorney General, Democrat Nick Spaeth, decided to retire in order to run for Governor of North Dakota. Heitkamp ran for the position and won with 62% of the vote.^[12] In 1996, she won reelection with 64% of the vote.^[13]

Heitkamp's best-known achievement as Attorney General of North Dakota was to lead the state's legal efforts against tobacco companies that resulted in the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.^[14]

2000 gubernatorial election

In 2000, incumbent Republican Governor Ed Schafer decided not to seek a third term. Heitkamp ran and was unopposed in the primary. On the Republican side, John Hoeven, CEO of Bank of North Dakota, also ran unopposed. During her campaign for governor it was announced that Heitkamp had been diagnosed with breast cancer, which is now in remission. Hoeven defeated her 55% to 45%. Heitkamp won 12 of the state's 53 counties.^[15]

Business career (2001–2011)

Heitkamp served as the director of Dakota Gasification Company's Great Plains Synfuels Plant from 2001 to 2012.^[1][16][17]

Her brother, Joel Heitkamp, is a radio talk-show host and former North Dakota state senator. Heitkamp occasionally filled in for her brother as host of his program, News and Views, which is broadcast on Clear Channel stations in North Dakota.^{[citation needed]}

U.S. Senate

2012 election

In January 2011, incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Kent Conrad announced his intent to retire instead of seeking a fourth full term in 2012.^[18] On November 8, 2011, Heitkamp announced she would seek the open seat.^[19] She vowed to be "an independent voice."^[20]

Heitkamp was attacked in commercials for accepting campaign contributions from a trial lawyer, Jack McConnell, Jr., assigned by her to help North Dakota implement its settlement with tobacco companies when she served as state attorney general. Heitkamp released an ad to respond to these allegations.^[21]

Heitkamp won the November 6, 2012, Senate election by 2,994 votes, less than 1% of the ballots cast. Berg conceded the race the next day.^[22] If he had not, the race could have been subject to a "demand recount" under North Dakota law, which permits candidates to demand a recount if they lose an election by more than 0.5% but less than 2% of the vote cast for the candidate receiving the most votes for the office sought.^[23]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
  • Subcommittee on Commodities, Markets, Trade and Risk Management
  • Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Jobs, Rural Economic Growth and Energy Innovation (Chair)
• Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Economic Policy
  • Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
  • Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment
• Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  • Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
  • Subcommittee on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Federal Programs and the Federal Workforce
• Committee on Indian Affairs
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Political positions

Health care

Heitkamp has said that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act contains "good and bad" and "it needs to be fixed." She criticized her Senate opponent Rick Berg for wanting to repeal the law, citing concerns about insurance companies denying coverage to children with preexisting conditions.^[24] Berg and the NRSC criticized Heitkamp for offering unqualified support for the health care law until she ran for the Senate in 2011, citing footage of her at a 2010 rally where she called the bill "a legacy vote" without any criticism of it.^[25][26]

During the United States federal government shutdown of 2013, Heitkamp criticized Republican attempts to use the Continuing Appropriations Resolution as "a vehicle to legislate other issues", such as the defunding of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and a delay of its individual mandate.^[27] Heitkamp was one of 14 members of a bipartisan Senate group that negotiated the compromise that was the basis of the eventual deal to end the shutdown.^[28]

Spending

Heitkamp said she would support a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution "with exceptions" if elected. Heitkamp said such exceptions would include wartime spending, Social Security, Medicare, and a ban on tax cuts for those making more than $1 million per year.^[29]

Taxes

Heitkamp announced in a campaign press release in 2012 that she supports the Buffett Rule. Heitkamp supports implementing the Buffett Rule via the Paying a Fair Share Act, which would require those making a gross income of $1,000,000 or more to pay at least a 30% federal tax rate.^[30]

Filibuster reform

Heitkamp said she supports reforming the filibuster in the United States Senate, but has not specifically endorsed the Merkley/Udall/Harkin proposal for doing so.^[31]

Energy

Heitkamp said she supports the Keystone XL pipeline because it will create jobs, decrease America's dependence on foreign oil from the Middle East, and help drive down the national debt.^[32] She also said many who oppose hydraulic fracturing have been exposed to "junk science" and do not know what it really is.^[33]

Same-sex marriage

On April 5, 2013, Heitkamp announced her support of same-sex marriage.^[34]

Gun control

On April 11, 2013, Heitkamp explained in an interview that she intended to vote against the Manchin-Toomey amendment introduced in the Senate after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which would have amended the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require universal background checks for all firearm purchases.^[35] Heitkamp stated, "I’m going to represent my state. ... in the end it’s not what any other senator believes. It’s about what the people of North Dakota believe."^[35]

Personal life

Heitkamp is married to Darwin Lange, a family practitioner. They reside in Mandan and are the parents of two adult children, Ali and Nathan. Heitkamp is a Roman Catholic.^[2]

Electoral history

References

External links

• Senator Heidi Heitkamp official U.S. Senate site
• Heidi Heitkamp for Senate
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress

v t e United States Senators from North Dakota Class 1 Casey Roach McCumber Frazier Langer Brunsdale Q. Burdick J. Burdick Conrad Heitkamp Class 3 Pierce Hansbrough Johnson Thompson Purcell Gronna Ladd Nye Moses Young Andrews Conrad Dorgan Hoeven