473: 'He's taking more crap for this than we are'

MINOT — Sen. Kevin Cramer is vexed by some of his fellow Republicans who want to kill a tax bill, and an immigration deal, lest they be seen accomplishing anything that might be perceived by voters as an accomplishment for incumbent Republican Joe Biden.

"That frustrates me," told me and my co-host Chad Oban on this episode of Plain Talk. On the immigration bill, specifically, Cramer said Biden is under more fire from his left flank than Republicans are from the left. "He's taking more crap for this than we are," he said.

We also asked Cramer about the competitive primaries North Dakota Republicans have for open gubernatorial and U.S. House races. "My political action committee, my leadership PAC, will be participating," Cramer said, though he made it clear he isn't picking a side just yet. He said he didn't run for office "so I can be neutral."

He praised Armstrong for getting into the gubernatorial race quickly after Burgum announced he wouldn't be seeking a third term. "He could lock out the crowd," he said, adding that Armstrong's early advantages in the race "may be weighing" on Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller's own decision on whether or not to seek that office.

As for the House race? Cramer said he "loves" both former state Rep. Rick Becker, and former state Sen. Tom Campbell, but also said, "I don't think that field is filled yet."

"I think there's room in our party for another candidate in that race," he added. He said the chaos in the Republican House caucus may be giving some potential candidates pause. "I'm starting to wonder why anyone wants the job."

Also on this episode, Scott Schofield, an Air Force veteran from Grand Forks, talks about his campaign for the state House in District 18, where he's taking on Democratic-NPL incumbent Rep. Corey Mock. In his campaign announcement, Schofield said there are "many of our elected leaders are more focused on fighting culture wars than in working together to address the problems facing our state."

"I also think there are a lot of Republican voters who don't want to hear that," he said when we asked him about the statement.

He said he considered running for the Legislature as a Democrat, but ultimately chose to campaign as a Republican because he feels he more consistently lines up with the NDGOP's platform. "I'm fiscally conservative," he said, though he added that not everything in that platform is to his liking. "The part that really chapped me is there is an entire chapter that is against the LGBTQ community," he said.

"That hurts my heart," he added.

Schofield also described himself as "pro-choice" and said he opposes North Dakota's near-total ban on abortions, which is currently being litigated in the courts, though he said he would consider certain a ban on abortion after a certain number of weeks.

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