Heitkamp: Staffer no longer with campaign after ad naming abuse victims

A staff member for Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) is no longer with the campaign following an ad that named abuse victims without their permission.

Heitkamp’s campaign has not said whether the staffer resigned or was fired, according to The Associated Press. Heitkamp, who is seeking reelection in a state President Trump won by double digits in 2016, told KFYR-TV in North Dakota that the “person who was responsible … is not with the campaign anymore.”

{mosads}The advertisement was an open letter to Rep. Kevin Cramer (N.D.), Heitkamp’s GOP challenger, and was meant to criticize statements he made about the recent confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Heitkamp on Tuesday apologized for the ad, saying in a statement that some of the women identified in the ad had not given their permission to be listed, and that others were not victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse or rape.

“We recently discovered that several of the women’s names who were provided to us did not authorize their names to be shared or were not survivors of abuse,” she said. “I deeply regret this mistake and we are in the process of issuing a retraction, personally apologizing to each of the people impacted by this and taking the necessary steps to ensure this never happens again.”

Heitkamp is one of 10 Senate Democrats up for reelection in states Trump won in 2016. Recent polls show her trailing Cramer by double digits.