Heidi Heitkamp in 2018 ND Senate race

On Abortion: Fund Planned Parenthood but don't fund abortions

Kevin Cramer (R): Ban. "Forty years ago, the United States Supreme Court sanctioned abortion on demand. & we wonder why our culture sees school shootings so often."

Heidi Heitkamp (D): Mostly legal. "Reproductive decisions should be left to a woman, her family, & her doctor." But opposes public funding & supports state's right to mandate parental consent for minors & to restrict partial-birth abortions.

Q: Let Planned Parenthood receive public funds for non-abortion health care?

Kevin Cramer (R): No. Co-sponsored bill to defund.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): Yes. Voted against numerous bills aimed at defunding.

Q: Allow employers to withhold contraceptive coverage from employees if disagree with it morally?

Kevin Cramer (R): Yes. Requiring contraceptive coverage infringes upon religious freedoms.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): No. Keep ACA requirement that insurance plans provide non-copay contraception.

On Corporations: Supports Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, with reforms

Kevin Cramer (R): Yes. Considered it regulatory overreach.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): Eased financial regulations for smaller banks, but opposes further easing rules.

On Drugs: Supports medical marijuana; leave recreational use to voters

Kevin Cramer (R): No. Plans to vote against it: "We don't need any more mind-altering substances on the market."

Heidi Heitkamp (D): Up to voters, some concerns on access by children. Urged administration to respect North Dakota's medical law.

On Education: Vouchers take public funds away from public schools

Kevin Cramer (R): Yes. Supports DC voucher program & charter schools.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): No. Opposed Betsy DeVos's "preference for private schools and. taking public funds away from public schools."

On Education: Supports public service loan forgiveness for college debt

Kevin Cramer (R): Rejected this approach. Favored tying to interest rates. Supported end to student loan interest deduction.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): Yes. Introduced related bill. Challenged Dept of Education possibly revoking public service loan forgiveness.

On Energy & Oil: Tax incentives for renewables, particularly wind power

Kevin Cramer (R): No. Considered prominent skeptic. Has called climate change a religious belief.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): Yes. Voted for the amendment saying climate change was real & serious.

Q: Limit or tax production of greenhouse gases? Support US participation in Paris Climate Accord despite President Trump's withdrawal?

Cramer: No. Roll back automotive fuel standards. Called EPA greenhouse gas regulations "arbitrary & capricious." Paris Accord was a terrible agreement.

Heitkamp: Mixed. Criticized Obama Clean Power Act, pushed for carbon sequestration research so could keep using coal & gas. Supported Paris Accord participation.

Q: Renewable Energy: Support government subsidies for renewable energy?

Cramer: No. Incentivize US fuel production. Let green energy tax credits & deductions lapse.

Heitkamp: Advocates an all-of-the-above approach that includes tax incentives for renewables, particularly wind power.

On Families & Children: No discrimination against intimate relationships

Kevin Cramer (R): No. "Marriage is defined in Scripture." Supreme Court ruling was "another example of activist judges overstepping their authority."

Heidi Heitkamp (D): Yes. "The federal government should no longer discriminate against. or interfere in personal, private, & intimate relationships."

On Free Trade: Tariffs on China cause retaliatory actions

Kevin Cramer (R): "I would prefer a more measured approach." But they are "the one tool [Trump] has," so support them & present a united front for negotiations.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): No. They "severely limit our ability to build the international support need to keep China in check." Retaliatory actions will hurt North Dakota.

On Government Reform: Reverse Citizens United by constitutional amendment

Kevin Cramer (R): No. Disclosure individual contributions, but "what other organizations, liberal & conservative, do to promote their beliefs is up to them."

Heidi Heitkamp (D): Yes. Sponsored 2018 DISCLOSE Act. "North Dakotans deserve to know who's trying to influence our elections."

Q: Support Citizens United decision, allowing unlimited political donations from corporations & unions?

Kevin Cramer (R): Yes.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): No. Reverse by constitutional amendment. "Billionaires who couldn't pick out North Dakota on a map shouldn't have more" electoral sway "than hard-working North Dakotans."

On Government Reform: Opposes voter ID; they target minorities & youth

Kevin Cramer (R): Unknown. When asked about ND voting laws, deferred to state Republican Party for comment.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): No. Has criticized unnecessary voter ID laws in ND that "clearly target" Native Americans & students.

On Health Care: Support ObamaCare, with improvements

Kevin Cramer (R): Full repeal. "An insult to the Constitution & the conscience." Would require covering patients with pre-existing conditions but let insurance companies charge more for them.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): Support, but improve. "Everyone should have access to affordable, quality care," whatever pre-existing conditions. North Dakota families need the same quality care that helped her beat breast cancer.

On Immigration: Path to citizenship for DREAMers, with conditions

Kevin Cramer (R): No. DACA was "unlawfully put together." Recipients must return to home country before applying for citizenship.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): Yes, with conditions. Voted for several bills coupling with border security increase, & in one case with restrictions on legal immigration.

On Jobs: Raise minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10/hour

Kevin Cramer (R): No. Reducing regulations is a better way to improve job opportunities.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): Yes. Co-sponsored 2014 bill to raise to $10.10/hr.

On Social Security: Opposes privatization of Social Security

Kevin Cramer (R): Yes. Advocate for private sector options.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): No. Opposes.

On Tax Reform: Trump tax cuts provide no relief for middle-class families

Kevin Cramer (R): Yes. They were "the best Christmas gift Washington [could] give."

Heidi Heitkamp (D): No. Will add $1.5 trillion to national debt & provide no real relief for middle-class families or small businesses.

On Technology: Supports strong infrastructure spending

Kevin Cramer (R): No. Opposed stimulus investment. Some support for infrastructure.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): Yes. Supports strong infrastructure spending for areas like roads. But also concerns about the deficit, feels both parties have ducked the issue.

On Technology: Support Net Neutrality, requiring equal access to all users

Kevin Cramer (R): Praised FCC ruling ending Obama Net Neutrality rules. Said other ways to protect the internet.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): Yes. Strong supporter. Voted to reverse FCC repeal of net neutrality.

On War & Peace: Supports treaty limiting Iran's nuclear capability

Kevin Cramer (R): Yes.

Heidi Heitkamp (D): No.

On Free Trade: AdWatch: trade war with China hurts soybean farmers

The 30-second ad centers on Cramer's support for Trump's trade war with China, which will hurt North Dakota's large agricultural economy because China has enacted retaliatory tariffs.

A farmer calls out Cramer while standing in a soybean field. "China is canceling their contracts to buy soybean. North Dakota is losing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of business. But when you ask Kevin Cramer why he supports the trade war, he criticizes farmers," the farmer says.

The ad then plays several Cramer soundbites that are ripped from their context in which Cramer seemingly downplays the trade war's impact. "Mr. Cramer, that trade war is costing my family a lot of money and you don't seem to care," the farmer says in response.

On Free Trade: Our $50B of tariffs on China caused $34B of retaliation

Heitkamp drew a clear line between her and Cramer on tariffs, explaining how they negatively impact her constituents. "I think the first thing when you look at trade, you haven't seen the full impact. Fundamentally everyone had hoped by this time there would have been an agreement that we would have returned to shipping soybeans to China," she said. "That hasn't happened. As time goes on and you scratch the surface, people are getting more angry."

On Abortion: Opposed 20-week abortion ban

Not only that, but C-SPAN cameras caught Heitkamp high-fiving Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on the Senate floor just after the vote. PolitiFact assessed the moment as being "more of an awkward greeting than a crude celebration," but to many constituents, it appeared tone-deaf and even offensive.

After that vote, on February 15, Rep, Kevin Cramer entered the race, immediately making it the most-discussed Senate contest of the midterm cycle, and rightly so.

North Dakota has just one member in the House. As a result, Cramer has already represented the entire state in Congress since 2012, the year that both he and Heitkamp were first elected (she in a close contest against Republican Rick Berg). In that election, Cramer received 12,000 more votes than she did.