North Dakota senator on decision to back Electoral College: ‘It was brutal’

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said Tuesday that his decision to back the Electoral College when Congress counts the vote was “brutal.”

The comment came during an interview on MSNBC when he was asked what led his decision to back the Electoral College.

Cramer, who’s from a state where President Trump is deeply popular, is one of a handful of GOP senators who said they would not object to the electoral vote.

“It was brutal, to be honest,” Cramer said. “But at the end of the day, there are two things. One is my conscience is captive to God, and my oath is to the Constitution of the United States.”

Cramer said he never heard from Trump or the White House regarding his decision, but he spent “a lot of time” reviewing evidence and hearing from constituents and attorneys.

“I’ve put a lot of intellectual rigor and emotion into this decision, so it doesn’t come easily,” he said. “But I also have to say I’m quite comfortable with it.”

Cramer’s comments come as roughly a dozen GOP senators have said they would object when Congress certifies the electoral vote Wednesday. Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) was the first to say he plans to object, and Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) is leading a coalition of eleven other senators supporting an objection until there is a 10-day audit.

Sen. Kelly Loeffler (Ga.), who is facing election against Rev. Raphael Warnock (D) on Tuesday, also announced that she plans to offer her own objection.

The effort requires a member of the House and a Senator to support an objection, which would force the chambers to debate it for two hours. Both chambers would then vote on whether to uphold the objection.

The effort is likely to fail because Democrats control the House and several GOP senators have also said they would not go along with the effort. But it will be third time in history that Congress will have to debate and vote on election challenges.