FARGO -- North Dakotans have a host of choices in terms of who they want representing them on Capitol Hill after 2012.
The prospect of two open congressional seats has whet the political appetites of nearly a dozen declared candidates.
For the U.S. Senate race, four contenders have come forward: Two Democrats and two Republicans.
As the 2012 campaign season ramps up, here is an introduction to the candidates.
Rick Berg (R)
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- Age: 52.
- Hometown: Hettinger, N.D.
- Currently lives in Fargo.
- Family: wife, Tracy; one son.
- Occupation: North Dakota's U.S. congressman.
- Previous work: Former Fargo legislator, 1993-2010. Founding partner and senior vice president with Goldmark, a regional residential and retail real estate company.
Q. Why are you running to represent North Dakota in the U.S. Senate?
A. "Pretty much the same reasons I ran for the House. What's going on in North Dakota is working. We've got low unemployment, jobs, and that's what America needs."
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Q. What three words best describe your campaign and what you stand for as a candidate?
A. "Jobs, balanced budget, common-sense regulation. ... This uncertainty that's over all small business: That's why our economy's not going, that's why people aren't creating jobs."
Q. What sets you apart from your competition within the Republican Party, Duane Sand?
A. "Over the last year, I've had a lot of success in Washington, trying to get North Dakota's voice heard. Two things that have been key: one, having 30 years of being a small businessman and two, is my legislative experience."
Q. If elected, what's at the top of your agenda? What would be the first piece of legislation you would propose, and why?
A. "Take the House bills that we've passed that would create jobs and control regulation, and pass them. Jobs, stability in our taxation and stability in our regulation. I would not be in this race if I did not think we could correct the problems America's facing."
Q. If you don't earn your party's nomination next spring, will you still run in the June primary?
A. No. "I'm a big supporter of the convention. I believe our conventions, both the Republican and Democrat, have been very good at vetting candidates, and I would abide by the convention's decision."
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Heidi Heitkamp (D)
- Age: 56.
- Hometown: Mantador, N.D.
- Currently lives in Mandan, N.D.
- Family: husband, Darwin; two children.
- Occupation: Director at Dakota Gasification Co. since 2001.
- Previous work: North Dakota Attorney General, 1993-2000. North Dakota Tax Commissioner, 1986-92. Counsel for state Tax Commissioner's Office, 1981-86, and the Environmental Protection Agency, 1980-81.
Q. Why are you running to represent North Dakota in the U.S. Senate?
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A. "I think it's time for new leadership; I think it's time for proven leadership. And I think that I have the skill sets and the proven record of working across party lines, of getting things done."
Q. What three words best describe your campaign and what you stand for as a candidate?
A. Independence. Effective. Heart. "What motivates me is a passion for North Dakota, a belief in the quality of this place, a belief in the quality of its people. ... That probably almost more than anything motivates me to do this."
Q. What sets you apart from your competition within the Democratic-NPL Party, Tom Potter?
A. "I'm not familiar with what Tom Potter has done. ... But I can tell you that I think I have a record of leadership in North Dakota. I have a record of working across party lines. I have a record of getting results."
Q. If elected, what's at the top of your agenda? What would be the first piece of legislation you would propose, and why?
A. "Getting people back to work and getting our fiscal house in order. ... We cannot succeed if we don't take care of the deficit. And one huge component of taking care of the deficit is getting people back to work. That has to be Job 1."
Q. If you don't earn your party's nomination next spring, will you still run in the June primary?
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A. No. "Traditionally in North Dakota, the parties nominate their candidates, and it's only in the rarest of circumstances that we'd go to the primary. I respect the nomination process."
Tom Potter (D)
- Age: 62.
- Hometown: Boulder, Colo.
- Currently lives in Grand Forks.
- Family: wife Louise "Weezie"; three children and seven grandchildren.
- Occupation: lay pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Red Lake Falls, Minn.-
- Previous work: attorney for 2 years; finance professor at University of North Dakota for about 20 years.
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Q. Why are you running to represent North Dakota in the U.S. Senate?
A. "My background as a lawyer, finance professor and now pastor gives me a little more perspective on both the state of North Dakota and the U.S. government than most other people would have."
Q. What three words best describe your campaign and what you stand for as a candidate?
A. "Equality, integrity and cooperation. I've always been somebody who's motivated by the desire to help others. ... We can't go forward without cooperating with each other."
Q. What sets you apart from your competition within the Democratic-NPL Party, Heidi Heitkamp?
A. "I've been a primarily grassroots, nonelected politician. That's a different role: You are required to listen, agree and cooperate. ... Heidi's a little higher-profile than I am. She's held elected office, so those will create some differences between us."
Q. If elected, what's at the top of your agenda? What would be the first piece of legislation you would propose, and why?
A. "Until I'm there, until I've met some people, until I have established some contact and repoir, I'm not making promises to me or anybody else as to what's going to happen. But I will promise you that I will make those contacts, that I will discover how that system operates ... I will identify issues that are important for North Dakota."
Q. If you don't earn your party's nomination next spring, will you still run in the June primary?
A. No. "I'm campaigning -- and I assume Heidi is as well -- on the kind of contest that's constructive, that's unified, that will make the Democratic Party stronger, not weaker. So, when the convention speaks, I think both Heidi and I need to listen to what the convention says."
Duane Sand (R)
- Age: 46.
- Hometown: Fargo
- Currently lives in Bismarck.
- Family: wife, Holly; two children.
- Occupation: Small businessman; U.S. Navy Reserves commander.
- Previous work: Three unsuccessful congressional campaigns -- for the Senate candidate in 2000 and for the House in 2004 and 2008. Former chairman of the North Dakota Taxpayers Association.
Q. Why are you running to represent North Dakota in the U.S. Senate?
A. "The same reason I've always run: To represent the people of North Dakota and to use my skill sets that I've earned as a small businessman and a naval submariner ... to represent North Dakota values and make Washington, D.C., work for the people of our entire country."
Q. What three words best describe your campaign and what you stand for as a candidate?
A. "Staunch independently minded. ... I think that both parties have failed the American people, and so I have become very independently minded, calling out my own party when they're wrong."
Q. What sets you apart from your competition within the Republican Party, Rick Berg?
A. "Rick has been in politics now for 27 years. He's a through-and-through politician. He's used to being on the Republican side -- which is more right than wrong, in my opinion -- but he doesn't see that the Republicans have helped to add to the crisis our country is seeing."
Q. If elected, what's at the top of your agenda? What would be the first piece of legislation you would propose, and why?
A. "Cut federal spending 15 percent. ... Right after that, I'd like to help lead the charge to get a comprehensive national energy policy put in place. If we can cut spending and grow our economy, we can wipe out this debt."
Q. If you don't earn your party's nomination next spring, will you still run in the June primary?
A. Maybe. "I'm not closing the door on the primary. I'm going to do what I think is in the right interest for the people of North Dakota.4
