Bio
Senator Kevin John Cramer is an American politician. He has been serving as a junior U.S. Senator from North Dakota under the Republican since 2019. He also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Cramer was born on January 21st, 1961, in Rolla, North Dakota. But, he was raised in Kindred, Cass County. He was born to Clarice and Richard Cramer. He graduated from Kindred High School and enrolled at Concordia College. There, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1983.
In 2003, he earned a Master’s degree in Management from the University of Mary, Bismarck
Senator Kevin Cramer Career
Cramer started his political career with the Democratic Party. He worked on political campaigns, especially Senator Mark Andrew’s re-election.
Afterward, he joined the state’s Republican party. From 1991 to 1993, Cramer served as chairman of North Dakota’s Republican party. He held many state offices and lost elections to the At-Large District three times before winning in 2012.
In 2018, Cramer contested for the U.S. Senate to represent North Dakota. He won in the general election on November 6th, 2018, against the incumbent, Heidi Heitkamp, with 55.1 percent of the vote. He assumed office on January 3rd, 2019.
Before serving in the U.S. Senate, Cramer served as chair of the North Dakota Republican Party. In May 1993, Governor Ed Schafer appointed Cramer as the state tourism director. He was the state tourism director until June 1997. Then, he was assigned as the Economic Development Director till 2000.
Following his period as director of economic development, Cramer became director of the Harold Schafer Leadership Foundation from 2000 to 2003.
From 2003 to 2012, Cramer was a member of the North Dakota Public Service Commission. He represented North Dakota’s At-Large District in the U.S. House from 2013 to 2019. He previously ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House seat in 1996, 1998, and 2010.
In 2003, Cramer was appointed to the public service commission by Governor John Hoeven. He was elected to a six-year term on the Public Service Commission in 2004, winning against NPL nominee Ron Gumeringer.
Cramer was reelected to a second term on the Public Service Commission, conquering Democratic nominee Brad Crabtree in 2010. He served on the commission until 2012
Senator Kevin Cramer Accomplishments
Kevin is a strong advocate of human rights, including making policies for the convenience of his people. His administration has worked to cut and balance budgets. He has also worked to put in place common-sense regulations in the government.
Kevin has also worked to improve the state’s access to quality healthcare. His administration also boasts of legislative reforms on environmental protection and energy.
He supports a rise in oil and gas drilling on public lands and cutting taxes for energy producers. He contradicted what he characterizes as overreach by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Senator Kevin Cramer Criticisms
Cramer got under fire for misusing campaign funds and faces an open FEC complaint. A practice ethics watchdogs called “morally kind of sticky” criticized Cramer for misusing campaign donations.
That is not the first time Cramer has been condemned. Cramer had also been slammed by a judge for taking campaign donations from industries he was supposed to regulate
Senator Alex Padilla Criticisms
Padilla got into a mess with the Republicans over the use of a vendor. As the Secretary of State of California, Padilla signed a $35 million deal with a voter enlightenment program vendor. Padilla was accused of conflict of interest and sued for illegally spending taxpayer’s money.
Besides, Padilla’s ban on using single-use plastic bags in grocery stores is the most controversial bill of his tenure. The bill piled on several conservative critics. It also caused severe financial damage to plastic bag manufacturers.
All efforts to override this decision failed. Meanwhile, Padilla expressed no concern or regrets over the decision
