Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said he won’t run to replace Gov. Doug Burgum (R) after the incumbent governor announced Monday he wouldn’t pursue a third term, Politico reports.
Said Cramer: “In the second six-year term, you probably like quadruple your influence. Seniority is probably more important.”
North Dakota Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley (R), “who recently admitted to an extramarital affair, announced today that he will not run for governor in 2016,” the Fargo Forum reports.
Said Wrigley: “While Kathleen and I have been heartened by the many expressions and promises of support for a 2016 campaign for governor, we have concluded that the onset of a campaign is not consistent with the current needs of our family.”
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), “widely considered Democrats’ best hope for reclaiming the governor’s office in North Dakota for the first time since 1992, said Wednesday she will not compete for the job in next year’s election,” the Fargo Forum reports.
“Heitkamp said she still considers being governor the highest honor a public official can have, but she had to weigh that against issues she’s dealing with in Washington, such as new pollution standards for coal-fired power plants, the nation’s oil export ban and a new clean-water rule that would expand federal jurisdiction over some state waters.”
North Dakota Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley (R) admitted to having an extramarital affair after a blogger mentioned the rumored dalliance online, but he and his wife said they are still weighing a run for governor in 2016, the Fargo Forum reports.
Said Wrigley: “What’s changed today is that a very private matter that we’ve dealt with … has been forced out into the public discussion… Many months ago I went to Kathleen and I acknowledged to her that I had been unfaithful. That was an intensely difficult time and we turned to our longtime pastor and prayer and also to professional guidance to begin the process of reconstituting the trust that I had damaged.”
North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R) “announced Monday that he will not run for re-election next year, blowing the gubernatorial race wide open and intensifying speculation over whether Democratic U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp will seek the state’s highest office,” the Fargo Forum reports.
North Dakota Republicans will propose a bill to change the manner in which open Senate seats are filled, amid rumors that Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) is considering running for governor in 2016, the Say Anything Blog reports.
Heitkamp would choose her own successor under current law. The proposed change would require Senate vacancies to be filled by special election.
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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