Rep. Kevin Cramer has reversed course and decided to run for Senate in North Dakota, sources confirmed Thursday.
The announcement “and rally” will take place on Friday evening in Bismarck, N.D., according to information posted on a “Cramer for U.S. Senate” Facebook page.
The Republican was under immense pressure from White House and senior Senate Republicans to jump into the race against Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp. The effort to recruit Cramer reignited in recent weeks after GOP leaders in Washington concluded that state Sen. Tom Campbell, the Republican running in Cramer’s place, could not beat Heitkamp.
Cramer surprised Republicans in January when he announced that he would run for re-election to his statewide, at-large House seat, after being the sole focus of a recruiting effort in North Dakota led by personal appeals from President Trump. The state is overwhelmingly Republican, and Republicans there tend to support Trump.
Still, top Republicans worried that Campbell’s vulnerabilities risked the party’s chances of defeating Heitkamp. Cramer’s decision, if he follows through, will be a major victory for Senate Republicans in their bid to win seats and pad their 51-49 majority. When Cramer bowed out in January, the move was considered a major blow to Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
