HEIDI HEITKAMP

12 times an election came down to a single point — or a single vote

Alyssa Meier / Forum News Service — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 01:56:23 GMT

BISMARCK — Politicians in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota have routinely been elected on small margins, occasionally by single digits and, at least once, on a tie.

Here’s how some of the tightest statewide elections in the Dakotas and Minnesota played out.

1924 Minnesota election for U.S. Senate

Thomas D. Schall, Republican: 388,594 votes or 46.45%

Magnus Johnson, Farmer-Labor: 380,646 votes or 45.50%

Margin of victory: 7,948 votes or 0.95%

In 1924, Republican Thomas D. Schall won Minnesota’s Senate election by less than 1 percentage point. Schall took 46.45% of the popular vote to knock out Farmer-Labor candidate Magnus Johnson, who earned 45.5%. Johnson had been elected to a partial term in a special election in 1923 and had been vying for a full term until Schall gave him the boot.

1962 South Dakota election for U.S. Senate

George McGovern, Democrat: 127,458 votes or 50.12%

Joe Bottum, Republican: 126,861 votes or 49.88%

Margin of victory: 597 votes or 0.24%

South Dakota’s first Democratic senator in 20 years was elected by a margin of just under 600 votes in 1962.

Democrat George McGovern and Republican Joe Bottum faced off in the 1962 race, which originally was set to feature incumbent Sen. Francis H. Case. Case won the state’s primary handily but died shortly after, leaving state officials to scramble for a new candidate.

Bottum was appointed to fill the vacancy but lost the election to McGovern, who pulled out a win by just 597 votes. He was the state’s first Democratic senator since 1942.

1962 Minnesota election for governor

Karl Rolvaag, DFL: 619,842 votes or 49.713%

Elmer Anderson, Republican: 619,751 votes or 49.706%

Margin of victory: 91 votes or 0.007%

The tightest election in Minnesota history to date was the 1962 gubernatorial race between the state’s current governor and lieutenant governor. DFL challenger and Lt. Gov. Karl Rolvaag was seeking to replace Republican Gov. Elmer Anderson, but initial election results showed Rolvaag losing by 142 votes.

Rolvaag contested the results, launching a months-long legal battle that was carried out as Anderson continued serving as governor. Finally, in March of 1963, a three-judge district court determined that Rolvaag had in fact won the election by 91 votes in an election of over 1.2 million.

1974 North Dakota election for U.S. Senate

Milton Young, Republican: 114,852 or 48.45%

William L. Guy, Democratic-NPL: 114,675 or 48.37%

Margin of victory: 177 votes or 0.08%

Republican Sen. Milton Young had won five terms as a North Dakota representative in Congress when he went into the 1974 election, hoping for a sixth term in office. This race would be less of a breeze for the incumbent congressman, who landed within less than 1% of challenger William L. Guy.

Democratic-NPL candidate Guy gave Young a serious run for his money, tallying 114,675 votes against the incumbent’s 114,852. Young took his victory by less than 0.1% and with just 177 votes separating the candidates.

1986 North Dakota election for U.S. Senate

Kent Conrad, Democratic-NPL, 143,932 votes, 49.80%

Mark Andrews, Republican, 141,812 votes, 49.07%

Margin of victory: 2,120 votes or 0.73%

North Dakota State Tax Commissioner Kent Conrad unseated incumbent Sen. Mark Andrews in a 1986 upset. Andrews, a Republican, was seeking a second term representing the state in Congress, but Democratic-NPL candidate Conrad was fighting for the seat. Conrad would eventually pull out 49.80% of the vote, 0.73% more than Andrews. With 2,120 votes pushing him ahead, Conrad took the race.

1996 South Dakota election for House Legislator

Hal Wick, Republican: 4,191 votes or 24.71%

John R. McIntyre, Democrat: 4,191 votes or 24.71%

Margin of victory: 0 votes or 0%

One of the winners of the 1996 South Dakota election earned a seat in the Legislature on a tie vote. Democrat John McIntyre was initially declared a winner by just four votes in the Legislative District 12 election that year.

McIntyre had tallied 4,195 votes over Republican Hal Wick’s 4,191 — Republican Judy Rost earned 4,687 votes to take the first of two available seats. Wick petitioned for a recount, which showed Wick instead winning by one vote over McIntyre.

An examination by the South Dakota Supreme Court resulted in one vote for Wick being invalidated, creating a tie that was broken by a vote of the House, which elected Wick.

1998 South Dakota election for House Legislator

John R. McIntyre, Democrat: 3,219 votes or 25.85%

Hal Wick, Republican: 3,215 votes or 25.81%

Margin of victory: 4 votes or 0.04%

Hal Wick and John McIntyre had a legendary rematch in 1998 when the pair went head to head once again for a seat in the South Dakota House. After initially tying for one of two seats open in District 12, a recount showed McIntyre winning. In a bit of irony, McIntyre would win the seat by four votes, the amount he initially, officially won by in 1996 before the recount.

2000 Minnesota election for U.S. House

Mark Kennedy, Republican, 138,957 votes, 48.10%

David Minge, DFL: 138,802 votes or 48.04%

Margin of victory: 155 votes or 0.06%

Republican Mark Kennedy slipped past DFLer David Minge in the 2000 race for Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District. Kennedy earned just under 139,000 votes, and 155 more than Minge. With 48.10% of the vote compared to Minge’s 48.04%, Kennedy secured his spot in the House of Representatives.

2002 South Dakota election for U.S. Senate

Tim Johnson, Democrat: 167,481 votes or 49.62%

John Thune, Republican: 166,957 votes or 49.42%

Margin of victory: 524 votes or 0.15%

Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson squeaked out a win in his bid for reelection in 2002 after Republican John Thune came up about 500 votes short. Johnson earned 49.62% of the vote, while challenger Thune landed dangerously close with 49.47% — a 0.15% difference equating to 524 votes.

2008 Minnesota election for US Senate

Al Franken, DFL: 1,212,629 votes or 41.99%

Norm Coleman, Republican: 1,212,317 votes or 41.98%

Margin of victory: 312 votes or 0.01%

In Minnesota’s closest race to date, DFL candidate Al Franken unseated U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman after initially being identified as the loser of the election.

Coleman, a Republican, was up 215 votes after the first statewide count, but a recount would see the tables turn and Franken declared the winner by just 225 votes. Coleman challenged the results of the recount and, after the notice of contest was dismissed, filed an appeal with the Minnesota Supreme Court.

The Court rejected the appeal and Coleman conceded the race 238 days after the election, which Franken officially won by just 312 votes. Franken took 41.99% of the vote and Coleman 41.98%, a separation of just 0.01%.

2012 North Dakota election for U.S. Senate

Heidi Heitkamp, Democratic-NPL: 161,337 votes or 50.2%

Rick Berg, Republican: 158,401 votes or 49.3%

Margin of victory: 2,936 votes or 0.9%

In the 2012 race for U.S. senator, former North Dakota Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp pulled a slim victory over Republican Rick Berg.

Heitkamp and Berg were vying for the open North Dakota seat in Congress, and the race would be one of the closest in state history. Heitkamp would secure just over 50% of the vote against Berg’s 49.3%, a win by just 2,936 votes.

2018 Minnesota election for House legislator

John Persell, DFL: 8,454 votes or 49.39%

Matt Bliss, Republican: 8,443 votes or 49.32%

Margin of victory: 11 votes or 0.07%

After losing to him by about 1,500 votes in 2016, John Persell earned his redemption in 2018 with a win over incumbent Minnesota Rep. Matt Bliss. Republican Bliss, who had beaten DFL candidate Persell two years prior, failed to earn re-election in his bid for the District 5A seat.

Persell initially was said to have won by eight votes, but a recount would widen that margin slightly to 11 votes, or 0.07%. Interestingly, Bliss would come back in 2020 to best Persell by 7% and reclaim his spot in the Minnesota Legislature.

Tightest races based on margin of victory percentage

1. 1996 South Dakota House Legislature: 0%

2. 1962 Minnesota governor: 0.007%

3. 2008 Minnesota U.S. senator: 0.01%

4. 1998 South Dakota House Legislature: 0.04%

5. 2000 Minnesota U.S. House: 0.06%

6. 2018 Minnesota House Legislature: 0.07%

7. 1974 North Dakota U.S. senator: 0.08%

8. 2002 South Dakota U. S. senator: 0.15%

9. 1962 South Dakota U.S. senator: 0.24%

10. 1986 North Dakota U.S. senator: 0.73%

11. 2012 North Dakota U.S. senator: 0.9%

12: 1924 Minnesota U.S. senator race: 0.95%

Data courtesy of the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office, North Dakota Secretary of State’s Office, South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office and the Libary of Congress.]]>

Tim Walz depicted as rural champion at Farmfest by Heidi Heitkamp and Peggy Flanagan

Noah Fish — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 21:16:42 GMT

MORGAN, Minn. — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, announced this week as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate for the 2024 presidential election, wasn't at Farmfest this year. But he had a former U.S. senator and his lieutenant governor stumping for him and defending his record in farm country.

In southwest Minnesota, which is far from blue territory in the state, Walz got support from former U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat from North Dakota, who was at Farmfest on Aug. 7 on behalf of the Harris-Walz ticket.

Heitkamp said she met Walz during her first couple weeks in Congress.

"I got to meet him traveling back and forth on the plane from D.C. to the Twin Cities, and I tell people my first impression was that I've known him all my life," Heitkamp said. "He's like everybody else that I grew up with. Every social studies teacher, every person who makes communities work."

Walz, a U.S. House member for 12 years before becoming Minnesota's governor, has a history of supporting farmers, Heitkamp said. She called him "instrumental" in passing "one of the most successful farm bills."

During his last term in Congress, Walz sponsored legislation to expand veterans’ access to farm programs.

"We've been building on that ever since," Heitkamp said of the current farm bi which includes extended provisions from Walz’s veterans bill.

Heitkamp said she believes that Walz, who grew up on his family's farm in Nebraska, will give rural America "a seat at the table" if elected as vice president.

"Where we are headed in agriculture going into the future, we can't just rest on our laurels and assume that we can keep doing the same thing that we've always done. I think we need dynamic leadership that understands that you just don't throw money at a problem," Heitkamp said.

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan filled in for Walz during his slotted speech time at Farmfest as he attended a campaign rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

"I think during our last five years, we've been incredible partners with agriculture," Flanagan said.

She pointed to hiring farmer and former Minnesota Farmers Union lobbyist Thom Petersen as Minnesota's ag commissioner as "one of the most powerful things" done by Walz's administration.

"The investments that we have made in ensuring that we have low-interest loans for farmers, our work around emerging farmers has been important, and the investments in AGRI (value-added grants) and dairy," she said of some of the accomplishments led by Walz.

She said the Walz administration has been able to respond and partner with farmers as the state has navigated through multiple droughts and now flooding.

"The best thing, I think, that we can point to is how we listen to the agriculture community, and then we see that translated into policy. That's how we've been leading," Flanagan said. "I think people can expect that from him in the future."

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Savanna's Act for missing and murdered Native Americans headed to Trump's desk for signature

April Baumgarten — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 22:19:27 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump is poised to sign a missing and murdered Native Americans bill that was backed by North Dakota leaders in light of the 2017 death of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind in Fargo.

The U.S. House approved Savanna’s Act Monday, Sept. 21, with a voice vote, meaning the bill is headed to the president’s desk, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said in a statement. If signed, the Department of Justice will be required to develop protocols to address the issue of missing and murdered Native Americans.

That includes providing training to law enforcement on how to record tribal enrollment for victims in federal databases, implementing strategies to educate the public on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, consulting tribes on work regarding missing and murdered Native Americans, developing guidelines for cases and reporting statistics.

“Savanna’s Act addresses a tragic issue in Indian Country and helps establish better law enforcement practices to track, solve and prevent these crimes against Native Americans,” Hoeven said in his statement.

Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., introduced Savanna’s Act in the Senate in October 2017, less than two months after the 22-year-old LaFontaine-Greywind went missing. Her body was found Aug. 27, 2017, in the Red River just north of Fargo.

Prosecutors said Brooke Crews, who is serving a life sentence in prison for her part in the death of the enrolled member of the Spirit Lake Nation, cut LaFontaine-Greywind’s child from her stomach. Crews’ ex-boyfriend, William Hoehn, also is serving a 20-year prison sentence in connection to the kidnapping of the baby, Haisley Jo, who survived.

After unanimously passing in the Senate, Heitkamp’s bill died in the House when former Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia blocked it. The Democrat accused Goodlatte, the then-head of the House Judiciary Committee, of playing “petty partisan games.”

Heitkamp lost her reelection bid to Republican Kevin Cramer in 2018, but Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska who co-sponsored the bill, reintroduced it in January 2019.

Backed by Hoeven and Cramer, Savanna’s Act passed with unanimous consent in the Senate on March 11.

In speaking on the bill, U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., said Monday on the House floor that LaFontaine-Greywind's story exposed that data on missing and murdered Native American women is scattered across government databases "if it even exists at all."

Armstrong said LaFontaine-Greywind's story is not unique. Olivia Lone Bear went missing in October 2017 and was found almost a year later submerged in a truck in Lake Sakakawea. The FBI is investigating the 32-year-old Native American's death, as foul play has not been ruled out.

"Savanna's Act will begin to help address this crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people," Armstrong said, noting Native American and Alaskan Native women face a murder rate 10 times higher than the national average. "Because of outdated databases and lack of coordination between law enforcement agencies, there's no reliable way of knowing how many Indigenous women actually do go missing each year."

Trump has not publicly committed to signing the bill, but he has supported other legislation and executive orders regarding Native Americans. That includes ordering the establishment of a missing and murdered Native Americans task force last year.

Hoeven's office said it has urged Trump to support Savanna's Act. He expects the president to sign it into law, his office said.

Readers can reach reporter April Baumgarten at 701-241-5417 or follow her on Twitter @aprilbaumsaway.

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Smith, Heitkamp say they're 'hell-bent' on defeating Trump, denounce GOP's attacks on USPS

Dana Ferguson — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 18:59:52 GMT

ST. PAUL — U.S. Sen. Tina Smith and former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp on Thursday, Aug. 20, told fellow Democrats that they were "hell-bent" on helping former Vice President Joe Biden win the presidency this fall and urged party activists to help turn out voters to elect Democrats in the Midwest.

The comments came on the final day of the Democratic National Convention as members of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota delegations convened virtually and just days after President Donald Trump stumped in the state in hopes of flipping it in November.

At the virtual breakfast, Smith told Democratic delegates that she was "hellbent" on fighting to keep her Senate seat and helping Democrats up and down the ballot get elected. Without holding onto her incumbency, she said "there's no path to taking back the United States Senate" for Democrats.

Attempting to unseat her is former U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis, a Republican who was voted into Minnesota's purple 2nd Congressional District in 2016 and unseated two years later by U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, a Democrat.

"Let’s be clear, my opponent is right in the footsteps of Donald Trump," Smith said Thursday. "He will attack anybody and anything to get attention — including the U.S. Post Office."

A day prior, Lewis stumped with other surrogates for the Trump campaign in Eagan, Minn., and blasted the U.S. Postal Service as unreliable after mail for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's gubernatorial campaign allegedly arrived in his PO box. Both campaigns are based in the same St. Paul post office.

He said the one-time mistake was evidence of a postal system that can't handle an increased volume of mail-in ballots.

"This is a system, this is a post office that couldn’t get Tim Walz and Jason Lewis right, that you are going to want to run the election? Are you kidding me?" he said. "I have grave concerns about this push by our secretary of state and by Democrats nationally to do a de facto all-mail-in vote. That is not what the post office is set up to do."

The conversation around mail-in and absentee ballots comes not only as more Americans are anticipated to vote by mail in November due to the pandemic but also as the Trump Administration has implemented changes to the postal service, which have reportedly caused slower delivery times.

U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy — who has donated millions to Trump's re-election efforts and the Republican Party — earlier this week said he is reversing course on some of his proposed changes to USPS like cutting deliverers' overtime hours "to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail." He didn't address concerns over sorting machines that have already been removed throughout the country.

Lewis has launched his campaign for senator against the Democratic Party more broadly, taking on Walz's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, state mandates requiring face masks, Minneapolis city councilors unsuccessful effort to disband the police and, more recently, their support for absentee voting.

Trump and Lewis have opposed universal absentee voting, citing unsubstantiated concerns about voter fraud. Minnesota has used Congress' CARES Act pandemic emergency dollars to increase funding for no-excuse absentee voting, but the state has not implemented universal mail-in voting.

On Wednesday, Lewis said Minnesota's absentee ballot process has worked "for many many years, many decades," requiring voters to request a ballot and "prove you are who you say you are." That process is, in fact, still in place in Minnesota. Minnesota voters still have to request a ballot to vote by mail.

Ahead of the general election, Trump's campaign and the Republican Party have committed to putting campaign infrastructure and substantial ad-buying efforts on the ground in Minnesota in an attempt to flip the state.

Minnesota has the longest-in-the-nation track record of supporting Democratic candidates for president. But Trump in 2016 came within 1.5% of snapping that trend. And in a visit to Mankato, Minn. on Monday, Trump said the state could be the deciding factor in this year's presidential contest.

"If we win Minnesota, it's over," the president told supporters.

Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democrat, said at Thursday morning's DNC event that she has turned her work in the state and beyond to getting rural voters "reacquainted" with the Democratic Party. Heitkamp and former U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, of Indiana, emphasized the importance of Democrats connecting with neighbors, friends and family members ahead of the election.

"We know there are people in rural America who are sitting quietly at the table, at the coffee table when everybody is trumping Trump and putting Trump on their signs and on their yards and on their buildings,” Heitkamp said. “You can’t let the hardcore Trump supporter stop you from your political activism, from your ability to change minds and to get out those votes.”

“We’re all part of this region and we all need to pull together because our part of the world has not done better under Donald Trump," she continued. "Our part of the world has suffered and we are seeing the consequences."

The Democratic National Convention will conclude Thursday night, Aug. 20, with Biden accepting the party's nomination. The Republican National Convention will kick off next week.

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Governments seek answers as crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women persists

Sarah Mearhoff and Dana Ferguson / Forum News Service — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 11:00:00 GMT

PIERRE, S.D. — Zahannez Stands was having recurring dreams that he and his loved ones were going missing — pursued by a green Camaro and abducted into the car, never to be seen again.

The nightmares were inspired by the real-life horrors he heard growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwestern South Dakota, where everyone knows a story of a daughter, sister or mother who seemingly vanished.

Stands was 13 years old when he sat before 13 legislators in the South Dakota Capitol’s largest hearing room on a bitterly cold February night in Pierre, pleading them to greenlight a bill that would collect data on cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people. He said his nightmares only stopped after he began home-schooling in fifth grade.

“It makes you feel scared to walk out of your house,” he said in the full hearing room. “You know you could never return.”

Legislators unanimously passed the bill in March, and it was signed into law by Republican Gov. Kristi Noem weeks later.

Read the rest of this series:

Part 1: Melissa Eagleshield went missing 5 years ago. Thousands more Indigenous people have vanished since Part 3: Crisis of missing Indigenous people sparks activists, self-taught searchers to help families awaiting answers

About a mile away from where Stands sat, Corinne Faye White Thunder’s body was submerged in the Missouri River. Though she was last seen in December 2017, her body wouldn’t be discovered until June, when Game, Fish and Parks officials accidentally encountered her submerged car off of Pierre’s Downs Marina. She had never been reported missing.

The push for legislative action like South Dakota's comes after years of grassroots efforts, which have fueled conversations about Native women and girls’ safety in hearing rooms and Facebook groups. A search for #MMIW on Twitter will reveal tweets from activists begging to be seen and lawmakers calling for reform.

And a wave of Native elected officials entering state and federal offices has shone a spotlight on the issue, though Native representation in legislative bodies remains disproportionate.

What are lawmakers doing?

In South Dakota, Senate Bill 164 in 2019 tasked the state with establishing uniform reporting and investigating protocols for missing persons cases and required training for law enforcement officers on cases of missing Native women and children. North Dakota also passed missing persons guidelines in 2019.

This year, South Dakota lawmakers are considering a bill written by the state Attorney General's Office that would establish a statewide universal database of missing persons cases, accessible by local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement.

Lawmakers in Minnesota last year formed a state task force to investigate the prevalence of violence against Indigenous women and girls in the state, as well as the gaps that allow these cases to fall through the cracks. The 11-member task force, comprised of advocates and state officials, has a year to study the issue and give recommendations to state lawmakers for legislative action.

In Washington, D.C., members of Congress have pushed for federal action. Savanna's Act, championed by former U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., has yet to be passed more than two years after the brutal murder of the bill's namesake Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a Spirit Lake Nation woman who disappeared from Fargo in 2017. The Not Invisible Act, introduced by four Native lawmakers in May 2019, has completely stalled.

And Congress’ reauthorization of the decades-old Violence Against Women Act, which contains provisions geared toward protecting Native women and reaffirming tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Native perpetrators, remains unpassed, embroiled in Washington politics.

The Trump Administration in November announced the formation of its own task force, dubbed Operation Lady Justice, aimed at better understanding what President Donald Trump called "a tremendous problem" that's "been going on for a long time ⁠— many, many decades, beyond that."

Pushing for answers

Minnesota state Rep. Mary Kunesh-Podein, D-New Brighton, said she authored the bill to create a state task force amid increased national awareness of the issue, which grew thanks to grassroots activism and high-profile cases like LaFontaine-Greywind's.

“People finally started talking about it,” Kunesh-Podein said, but the stories that were already well-known among Indigenous communities weren’t as familiar at the Capitol.

“Very few people had any idea that this was even happening,” Kunesh-Podein said. “So our first hearing (in 2018), there were legislators and people in the audience that were in tears, that were incredibly moved by the testimony of the women that came in to tell the stories.”

Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Nation, said part of the credit for getting the proposal in Minnesota off the ground goes to the Native women, including a coalition of Indigenous state lawmakers, who pushed to get Minnesota’s bill passed.

“I’m grateful that we didn’t have to convince people that our women were worth protecting this session,” Flanagan said. “The groundwork had been laid. The advocates were a constant presence here, and reminding us of our role and responsibility, and we got it done.”

In South Dakota, proponents of SB 164 asked for even less than a task force: They simply proposed that law enforcement keep track of cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) in their records. Without proper documentation, Native women's cases remain invisible to the eyes of the state.

Annita Lucchesi, a Cheyenne woman, at February’s hearing in Pierre said that as a survivor of domestic violence and trafficking herself, she was frustrated “that these stories weren’t being cared for and this data weren’t being collected in any meaningful way.”

She single-handedly ⁠— literally, with one hand broken by her former abuser ⁠— founded the Sovereign Bodies Institute, which houses one of the most comprehensive databases on MMIWG cases in the continent. Lucchesi, who is pursuing her Ph.D. in geography from the University of Arizona, began collecting the data herself with no funding or institutional backing.

“If that’s something that little ol’ me can do at a coffee shop table, that’s something our state agencies and law enforcement can commit to, as well,” she told legislators.

According to Sovereign Bodies, at least 158 Native women and girls have gone missing or murdered from South Dakota, and 35 from North Dakota, since 1900.

Lucchesi read off the names of the women and girls missing from South Dakota at February’s hearing: “Delphine, Tessa, Desiree, Darla….” Twelve Jane Does. It took her two-and-a-half minutes to get through the list, reading only the first names.

Is legislation enough?

Setting up state and federal task forces is a step, many involved in creating them said. But there’s more work to be done.

“This isn’t the victory,” Flanagan said. “The victory comes when we implement the recommendations and then see that we are experiencing a decrease in the number of women and girls that go missing or are murdered who experience violence.”

Heitkamp said as the prime author of Savanna's Act, she'll be proud when it finally reaches the president's desk. But she cautioned that solving the crisis is "going to take more than just these one-offs."

"It's not about, 'Boy, we got something done because we passed Savanna’s Act,'" she said. "(Savanna's Act) is only a first step to overcome historic disparities in the treatment of Native Americans as crime victims."

She said the lack of resources starts at the very beginning of every MMIWG case, from the moment a Native person goes missing. Tribal law enforcement agencies are notoriously strapped for resources, and Heitkamp said precious time is "wasted" because protocols aren't in place and federal agencies may not respond right away.

Heitkamp said public safety on reservations "has never been equal" to the rest of America. It wasn't until 2018 that Amber Alerts could be issued in Indian Country when children went missing, thanks to a bill Heitkamp cosponsored.

"What are the things that happen in white America when someone goes missing and why are we failing to do these exact same things in Native America?" she asked.

"They've been second-class citizens as it relates to public safety for a lot of years."

Lucchesi said the law's lack of a response is part of a larger problem: A "culture of violence against Indigenous women and girls."

“The law enforcement and justice systems are complicit in maintaining a culture of violence against Indigenous women and girls, where perpetrators, especially white men, are repeatedly taught by law enforcement that there are no consequences for harming an Indigenous woman or girl," she wrote in Sovereign Bodies' November report.

But there's a beacon of hope, Heitkamp said, in the advocates for change.

"They aren’t going to go quietly into the night," she said. "They’re not going to say, 'Well, that's just the way it is.' There is now a whole movement.

"Those are the kinds of things that will, in fact, spark additional protections."

If you or someone you know is a victim of violence, please consider calling the National Indian Women Resource Center at 406-477-3896 or the StrongHearts Native Helpline at 1-844-762-8483. In an emergency situation, please call 911.

Governments seek answers as crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women persists

Rather than a sign like most other people who turned out for the event, a demonstrator carries an empty dress Feb. 14 during the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's March in Bemidji, Minn. Jordan Shearer / Bemidji Pioneer

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Sept. 19, 2019, ceremonially signed a copy of a bill establishing a task force to study the prevalence of violence against Indigenous women and girls. Dana Ferguson / Forum News Service

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Governments seek answers as crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women persists

Sarah Mearhoff — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 10:41:00 GMT

PIERRE, S.D. — Zahannez Stands was having recurring dreams that he and his loved ones were going missing — pursued by a green Camaro and abducted into the car, never to be seen again.

“It makes you feel scared to walk out of your house,” he said in the full hearing room. “You know you could never return.”

Legislators unanimously passed the bill in March, and it was signed into law by Republican Gov. Kristi Noem weeks later.

Read the rest of this series:

Part 1: Melissa Eagleshield went missing 5 years ago. Thousands more Indigenous people have vanished since
Part 3: Crisis of missing Indigenous people sparks activists, self-taught searchers to help families awaiting answers

And a wave of Native elected officials entering state and federal offices has shone a spotlight on the issue, though Native representation in legislative bodies remains disproportionate.

What are lawmakers doing?

In Washington, D.C., members of Congress have pushed for federal action. Savanna’s Act, championed by former U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., has yet to be passed more than two years after the brutal murder of the bill’s namesake Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a Spirit Lake Nation woman who disappeared from Fargo in 2017. The Not Invisible Act, introduced by four Native lawmakers in May 2019, has completely stalled.

Pushing for answers

“People finally started talking about it,” Kunesh-Podein said, but the stories that were already well-known among Indigenous communities weren’t as familiar at the Capitol.

“If that’s something that little ol’ me can do at a coffee shop table, that’s something our state agencies and law enforcement can commit to, as well,” she told legislators.

According to Sovereign Bodies, at least 158 Native women and girls have gone missing or murdered from South Dakota, and 35 from North Dakota, since 1900.

Is legislation enough?

Setting up state and federal task forces is a step, many involved in creating them said. But there’s more work to be done.

"What are the things that happen in white America when someone goes missing and why are we failing to do these exact same things in Native America?" she asked.

"They've been second-class citizens as it relates to public safety for a lot of years."

Lucchesi said the law's lack of a response is part of a larger problem: a "culture of violence against Indigenous women and girls."

But there's a beacon of hope, Heitkamp said, in the advocates for change.

"They aren’t going to go quietly into the night," she said. "They’re not going to say, 'Well, that's just the way it is.' There is now a whole movement.

"Those are the kinds of things that will, in fact, spark additional protections."

Governments seek answers as crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women persists

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Women made historic gains in 2018 — unless they were Republicans

Sarah Mearhoff — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 00:03:34 GMT

ST PAUL — In 2018's midterm elections, across the country women ran for and were elected to public office in record numbers. Currently, there are more women serving in state legislatures, statewide offices and U.S. Congress than ever before.

In the Midwest, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem snagged the title of South Dakota's first female governor. Minnesota's Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan became the first woman of color elected to statewide office, and the second Native American woman ever elected to statewide office nationwide.

Some dubbed the year the "Pink Wave." What this year was decidedly not was red — at least not for women.

According to a recently released report on the 2018 election from Rutgers University's Center for American Women and Politics, the gains women made in 2018's midterms "were concentrated among Democratic women at every level of office." On the right side of the aisle, the number of Republican women in office declined in state legislatures, statewide executive offices and in the U.S. House nationwide from 2018 to 2019.

Decades prior to 2018's "Pink Wave," 1992 was dubbed "The Year of the Woman" when Americans elected more women to Congress than in any previous election. Upon 1993's swearing-in, 54 women, 40 Democrats and 14 Republicans, had taken their oaths of office.

Twenty-six years later, 126 women in 2019 — more than twice as many than in 1993 — hold seats in Congress. But the gains are mostly concentrated among Democratic women, whose representation increased by 163% between 1993 and 2019. Among Republican women in the same years, representation increased 50%.

Female Republican representation peaked during the 109th Congress between 2005 and 2007, and has trended downward since.

Speaking at the University of Minnesota on Thursday, Nov. 21, CAWP's Kelly Dittmar said she sees a "disparity in support infrastructure" as the reason for Republican women's disproportionate representation. She said resources like targeted recruitment, training and fundraising are especially helpful for women, who have historically been pushed out of politics and have a higher hurdle to clear in the path to victory than men.

Compared to Democrats, campaign resources tailored to Republican women are few and far between. Fundraising PACs for Republican women, for instance, rake in less money than big-name Democratic women's PACs. Just one example is Emily's List, a PAC for female Democratic candidates, which the Federal Election Commission reports raised nearly $14 million in the first 10 months of 2019.

Dittmar said targeted support for female candidates can also run counter to major Republican ideologies.

"You have Republican leadership saying, 'We don't play identity politics. Identity politics are bad,'" Dittmar said. "So it's really hard to reconcile a targeted effort toward recruiting and supporting women with the ideological point that has been made in the party, that we don't want to get into that. We want to just choose the best candidate."

It's a fine line to walk for female Republican candidates, too. Republican South Dakota state Rep. Scyller Borglum announced her congressional challenge to U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., earlier this year. She said Republican women "don't run and say, 'Vote for me because I'm a woman.' "

"What I will say is, by being a woman and running for office, I most certainly can serve as a voice to the other half that I’m not convinced have been getting much attention," she said. "I can represent all of South Dakota, as opposed to just representing half."

While running for governor, Noem rarely, if ever, acknowledged the historic nature of her then-potential governorship. Only one campaign ad during the 2018 election cycle made mention of her gender, and it was paid for by the state's Republican Party, not by her campaign.

Noem's move was intentional. Colleagues said she wanted South Dakota to elect her based on her merits, not her gender.

After her election, however, she acknowledged the weight of her legacy during her January 2019 inaugural address.

“It is a distinct honor to serve as our state’s first woman governor, first and foremost because of the message it sends to our state's girls and young women, but really boys and young men as well," she said.

Dittmar said it's difficult to measure the impact that role models can have on young people, but agreed that seeing women in public leadership is valuable to young people "so that we don't get to a point where they're doubting whether or not a woman is electable in public office, that it becomes normalized."

And role models help not only young people, but adult women currently seeking office, who Dittmar said often need guidance in navigating "this institution which all women know has been biased against them." Current female officeholders can help provide that, she said.

No women, Democratic or Republican, currently represent either of the Dakotas' three respective seats — all held by Republicans — in U.S. Congress. Prior to being elected governor, Noem served as South Dakota's at-large U.S. representative for eight years. North Dakota's Democratic U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp lost her reelection in 2018.

Both of Minnesota's U.S. Sens., Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, are female Democrats. All three of the state's Republican U.S. representatives are male. Three of Minnesota's five Democratic U.S. representatives are female.

That could change in 2020, though: Former-Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach is making a run for Minnesota's 7th Congressional District, currently occupied by longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson. Republicans are eyeing D7, which voted for President Donald Trump by a 30-point margin in 2016, as a major flip opportunity in 2020.

Fischbach, who has already received endorsements from U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and state leadership, could be the one to push Republicans over the finish line next year. Fischbach has made history before: In 2011, she became Minnesota's first female state Senate president.

She downplayed the historical significance of her position at the time, saying she hoped that being a woman would not make a difference.

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'Governing from opportunity': Klobuchar lays out priorities during presidential campaign stop in Fargo

Dave Olson / Forum News Service — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 20:04:53 GMT

FARGO — Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator from Minnesota and Democratic candidate for president, packed a downtown Fargo eatery for an appearance Thursday morning, June 6, at Atomic Coffee.

Klobuchar shared personal stories and touched on issues she said are critical to the country's future, including climate change; drug prices; applying anti-trust laws to large tech companies and placing greater attention on voting rights and online political advertising.

"These are all pro-democracy issues," Klobuchar said, speaking to a coffeehouse filled with supporters including former U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, who told the crowd no one in Washington will ever outwork, or outthink, Klobuchar.

"Welcome home, Amy. This is where you belong," Heitkamp said by way of greeting her former congressional colleague.

Klobuchar refrained from saying too much about the crowded field of Democratic candidates for president, which numbers about two dozen, but stressed she has never lost a race for office.

She succeeded in her races, she said, "by building trust." She also shared that a recent poll indicated she is in sixth place among the 24 current candidates.

Klobuchar made a pitch for financial support, noting that one indicator of her ability to raise funds includes the fact that, in the past when she sent out a call for help to people she knew, she received $17,000 in donations from former boyfriends.

"We are not going to be able to do it without your help," she told the crowd.

Referring to President Donald Trump, Klobuchar said he does things every day that fracture America's sense of community, including, she said, going after immigrants and people in his own political party who don't agree with him.

She pointed to dismissive statements the president made regarding British dignitaries while on a visit to Great Britain, as well as the president's call for a boycott of an American company — AT&T — because he was unhappy with reporting by CNN, an AT&T subsidiary.

"That was just the last few days," Klobuchar said, adding, "We should be governing from opportunity instead of chaos."

'Governing from opportunity': Klobuchar lays out priorities during presidential campaign stop in Fargo

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar speaks during a campaign stop at Atomic Coffee in downtown Fargo on Thursday, June 6, 2019. David Samson / The Forum

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp embrace during her campaign stop at Atomic Coffee in downtown Fargo on Thursday, June 6. David Samson / The Forum

'Governing from opportunity': Klobuchar lays out priorities during presidential campaign stop in Fargo

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar speaks during a campaign stop at Atomic Coffee in downtown Fargo on Thursday, June 6, 2019. David Samson / The Forum

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp embrace during her campaign stop at Atomic Coffee in downtown Fargo on Thursday, June 6. David Samson / The Forum

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WATCH: Klobuchar hosts presidential campaign event in Fargo

Forum News Service — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 15:15:00 GMT

FARGO — U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., hosted a presidential campaign event Thursday, June 6, at Atomic Coffee, 222 Broadway N.

She was joined by several other politicians, including former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney and Moorhead Mayor Johnathan Judd.

Following the Fargo visit, Klobuchar will host another campaign event at 5 p.m. Thursday at Hoops Brewing Co. in Duluth, Minn. According to a press release, she will discuss "her optimistic agenda to move our country forward." Duluth Mayor Emily Larson will join her.

Watch a video of the Fargo event below.

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Commentary: Democrats must win in rural America - and here's how

Washington Post — Fri, 31 May 2019 18:46:13 GMT

Former senators Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., lost their reelection races last year. Looking over the post-election data, Heitkamp told me in a phone interview that there was "a steady but persistent erosion" of support for Democratic candidates in the great swath of red America. "When you look at the numbers, it's hard to win the Senate or potentially the president without getting votes in rural America."

She stressed that Democrats need to expand their appeal. "It will be easier to govern," she said. Heitkamp warned that no party should have a lock in one geographic area; the result would be polarization and the party with monopoly strength taking voters for granted.

That was the genesis for Heitkamp and Donnelly's "One Country Project," which, its website says, "is dedicated to reopening the dialogue with rural communities, rebuilding trust and respect, and advancing an opportunity agenda for rural Americans." The project has three main purposes: building a data center "on rural opinion, voter makeup, demographics, turnout, long-term trends, and issue salience"; creating a network to engage rural voters; and developing policy aimed at rural America.

Heitkamp rejected the notion that her party has a "binary choice" between appealing to rural voters or to urban, blue-state voters. As she put it, the New York cabdriver has the same concerns people in her state do when it comes to "dwindling pay checks," health care and education. The particular solutions may be different - for example, in education, where long distances necessary to get to schools pose special challenges in rural America.

She also talked about loss of grocery stores and "food deserts" in rural America.

What does she recommend Democrats do to attract rural voters? "You've got to show up, but you can't show up empty-handed," she said. Candidates better show up with policy ideas.

I asked her if President Donald Trump's supporters feel betrayed by the broken promises on health care and tariff wars. "I don't think they feel betrayed. The small manufacturing company has been facing cheap imports from China." Meanwhile, "farmers are incredibly aware of trade [issues]," she said, but they continue to think Trump will open up new markets and they'll be better off in the long run. Heitkamp said solemnly, "There no proof that is going to happen." The real concern should be that when you lose markets, they're usually gone for good. When overseas demand drops, prices plummet. "That's going to have ramifications for years to come," she said. As for trade assistance, farmers are skeptical that the current level of support will continue. Moreover, they'd rather be in business than "sitting at home getting a check."

On health care, Heitkamp identified two issues: access and workforce. Keeping rural facilities in place is critical and has everything to do with reimbursements. Medicaid expansion kept many rural health facilities in business; if that gets rolled back, these will disappear. She said that if you look at a map, the availability of rural health care services is highest where Medicaid expansion took place. When Trump's administration joins a lawsuit to destroy the Affordable Care Act, that will "reverberate throughout rural America," she said. The second problem is attracting a skilled workforce that can provide needed services. She pointed to the lack of mental health professionals. A school with a suicidal child may find there is a two-month wait for that child to see a mental health professional, Heitkamp said. "Rural health care is in crisis."

Heitkamp was known in the Senate as intensely practical and ready to work across the aisle on issues that affected her state. Her political strategy is similarly down to earth. "Democrats don't have to win in rural America, they just have to stop losing by so much," she said.

Democratic contenders should heed her advice. What they may not be able to duplicate, however, is Heitkamp's obvious love and concern for her rural neighbors. She cares intensely about their well being. And empathy is hard to fake, especially when you rarely show up or come empty-handed.

Finally, there is a great deal of talk about the need for diversity on the Democratic ticket. "Diversity" should also include geographic and professional diversity. If not at the top of the ticket, candidates from the "heartland" such as Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., should be in the mix. The so-called Republican lock on the electoral college and the Senate won't be a lock if Democrats can break the GOP's iron grip on states such as Iowa. Knowing a thing or two about rural broadband, soy bean prices and rural health care would sure help.

This article was written by Jennifer Rubin, a reporter from The Washington Post.

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