Alternet has the story. Would we rather have kept Sen. Heitkamp’s seat? Absolutely. But it looks like the GOP will pay a high price for their blatant voter suppression of Native Americans. Native votes were actually higher than in 2012 (when Heitkamp won her seat) in many areas of the state. And it led to several state legislature seats flipping blue. And, in the most delicious poetic justice, Randy Boehning, the Republican state representative who sponsored the law, lost his seat to Democrat Ruth Buffalo, a Native American.
The article hints that outrage over this voter suppression may hurt GOPers in ND overall going forward. Now, that doesn’t mean we’ll easily win governorships or U.S. Senate (or House) seats in the near future. The state has moved considerably to the right since Heitkamp was elected in ‘12. Reversing that won’t be a quick fix. But Ruth Buffalo’s election is a start.