Poll: Heitkamp trails Cramer by 16 points in North Dakota

Incumbent Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D) trails Rep. Kevin Cramer (R) by 16 points in the North Dakota Senate race, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

{mosads}The Gray Television poll gives Cramer a 56 percent to 40 percent lead among likely voters over Heitkamp, well outside of the sample’s 3.84-point margin of error.

Cramer’s lead has grown since the last Gray Television poll conducted in September which showed him 10 points ahead.

The number of respondents with unfavorable opinions of Heitkamp had skyrocketed, from 41 percent in the previous poll to 52 percent now.

James Henson, a partner in Strategic Research Associates, which conducted the poll for Gray Television, said Heitkamp’s “no” vote for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh may explain some of this turn.

“Sen. Heitkamp appears to have been hurt by her vote against Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court as well as by subsequent campaign missteps widely covered in the media,” he said. The U.S. Senate voted on Kavanaugh’s confirmation in the period between the two polls.

12 percent of North Dakota voters polled said Kavanaugh’s nomination was the most important issue ahead of the election.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee canceled their advertising buys in North Dakota earlier this month.

Strategic Research Associated surveyed 650 likely voters between Oct. 12 and 19.