Facebook page promotes Heitkamp for Senate

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A few hours after North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan announced he wouldn't run for re-election, a supporter of former Democratic attorney general Heidi Heitkamp was promoting her for the race.

Joe Mathern calls Heitkamp a good, progressive Democrat who would be an excellent successor to Dorgan. Mathern launched a Facebook page to draft Heitkamp for the Senate race. Early this morning it had more than 350 supporters.

Heitkamp didn't respond to requests for comment last night. Mathern says he didn't speak to her before he started the Facebook site.

Mathern is a native of Solen in rural south-central North Dakota. He's a graduate student at the University of North Dakota.

He says he volunteered for Heitkamp's last political campaign in 2000, when she lost the governor's race to Republican John Hoeven.

Now Republicans are encouraging Hoeven to run for the Senate himself.

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