News and Commentary

Sen. Heitkamp: I Decided To Vote Against Kavanaugh After Watching His Testimony — With The Sound Off

   DailyWire.com

Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp, who is now expected to lose handily to her Republican challenger in North Dakota, said she was ready to confirm then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh after his testimony — until she watched it again with the sound off.

In an interview with CNN, Heitkamp said that she was ready to vote “Yes” on Kavanaugh but that his body language convinced her that she could not vote for him, despite the FBI finding no corroboration of the claims against him and multiple witnesses directly refuting the claims.

“I was concerned about these allegations but willing to give him the benefit of the doubt,” said Heitkamp, who currently trails Republican Kevin Cramer by an average of 8.7%.

“She watched Ford’s testimony,” CNN reports. “And then she watched Kavanaugh’s. And then she watched Kavanaugh’s again, but this time, with the sound off.”

“It’s something I do,” she told CNN. “We communicate not only with words, but with our body language and demeanor.”

His anger at being smeared publicly based on evidence-less claims was all the “evidence” Heitkamp needed that he was unfit for the court.

“I saw somebody who was very angry, who was very nervous, and I saw rage that a lot of people said, ‘Well of course you’re going to see rage, he’s being falsely accused,’ but it is at all times you’re to acquit yourself with a demeanor that’s becoming of the court,” she said.

The “final straw” was Kavanaugh pushing back hard against a Democratic senator, Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar, when she asked a leading question about him getting blacked-out drunk. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them,” she said.

The senator went on to tout her experience as a prosecutor as the reason she’s so confident in her interpretation of Kavanaugh’s body language and stating that, in the end, “it really came down to that I believed her.”

How North Dakotans feel about their senator voting against an eminently qualified, seven-times FBI-cleared judge after watching his testimony with the sound off we will learn in less than four weeks.

Partial transcript via CNN. H/t Allahpundit.

Related: Will Democrats Take Control Of The Senate? All The Latest Polls.

Create a free account to join the conversation!

Already have an account?

Log in

Got a tip worth investigating?

Your information could be the missing piece to an important story. Submit your tip today and make a difference.

Submit Tip
The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  Sen. Heitkamp: I Decided To Vote Against Kavanaugh After Watching His Testimony — With The Sound Off
Daily Wire Plus
Facts and headlines on the go.
Download the Daily Wire app.
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play
Download App QR CodeScan the QR Code to Download
FacebookXInstagramYouTubeRSS
Daily Wire PlusFacts and headlines on the go.
Download the Daily Wire app.
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play
© Copyright 2025, The Daily Wire LLC  | Terms | Privacy
Podcast compliance badge