Salon.com > Rick Berg

New oil workers key bloc in ND Senate race

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:56:00 +0000

MANNING, N.D. (AP) — Shirley Meyer grew up on a ranch north of Dickinson, N.D., and has represented her rural district in the state House for a decade. But when she knocks on doors in her re-election campaign, she sometimes feels like a stranger in her own home.

"I was just shocked at how many new people there were," Meyer said during a recent campaign swing through a south Dickinson mobile home park. "I didn't see one North Dakota (license) plate."

The oil boom that has transformed North Dakota's economy and reshaped the rolling prairie landscape has also added an element of mystery to next week's election by adding thousands of potential new voters to the region's tiny electorate. And the political suspense is tied to the national question of which party controls the Senate in January.

North Dakota's contest is one of several states with Senate contests that have remained tied for months, with no signs of clarifying before Tuesday's election. A handful of them, such as Montana's Senate race one state west, may not even be resolved then.

Republicans are still looking to gain four seats they need to win the Senate majority if President Barack Obama wins reelection, three if GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney prevails.

GOP candidate’s lush life

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 21:00:00 +0000

The Ritz-Carlton hotel on South Beach in Miami earns its five stars. The iconic hotel, designed by famed modernist architect Morris Lapidus, has been named one of the best hotels in the world by Conde Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure, and it features one of the country’s best spas along with its trademark "Tanning Butler," who will lather you with sunscreen at your command. It’s not cheap, but it’s worth it, especially when you’re not paying for it.

That was the case when North Dakota Republican Rep. Rick Berg, then a state legislator and now locked in an unexpectedly tight Senate race, charged his state’s taxpayers $1,017 for a stay in November 2005 to attend a conference organized by corporate lobbyists. Factor in valet parking, airfare, food and his legislative per diem, and the total bill to the state was $2,441.56.

North Dakota Senate race: Rick Berg’s shady real estate ties get shadier

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 21:26:00 +0000

On a Wednesday night two weeks ago, North Dakota Rep. Rick Berg boarded a plane in Washington bound for Fargo in order to defend his Senate bid, which has become surprising vulnerable in recent weeks, despite Republican hopes for a slam dunk. The next morning, his Democratic opponent, former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp, was going up with a new radio ad attacking the business practices of a real estate management company closely tied to Berg. The company, Goldmark Property Management, had earned a bad reputation in the state, along with tenant complaints, citations for alleged fire safety violations, and a C- rating from the Better business Bureau.

GOP Senate candidate supported life sentences for abortions

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 19:22:00 +0000

Rep. Rick Berg, R-N.D., who is running for Senate, once supported a bill that would make abortion illegal, even in cases of rape or incest, and would punish it with a lifetime prison sentence. The legislation arose when Berg was serving in the state Legislature. The proposed bill did carve out an exception in cases where the life of the mother was in danger.

In a twist, Berg called Todd Akin's recent "legitimate rape" comments "insulting and reprehensible." Though, to be fair, everyone else was doing it.