Poll: Berg opens slight lead on Heitkamp in North Dakota Senate race

Rep. Rick Berg (R-N.D.) holds a 2-percentage-point lead over Democrat Heidi Heitkamp in a new poll of the North Dakota Senate race, essentially a tie going into in the final stretch.

According to the Mason-Dixon poll, conducted for KVLY-TV/KFYR-TV, Berg has 47 percent support among likely voters to Heitkamp's 45, and the 2-percentage-point lead is well within the poll's 4-percentage-point margin of error.

But that's a slight decrease in support for Heitkamp from the last poll conducted for the stations, at the end of September, which put them tied at 47 percent. That decline seems to indicate Republican attempts to tie Heitkamp to Obama — who faces a 14-point deficit in the state in the new poll — might be taking hold.

In the waning days of the campaign, it seems Berg will need to solidify his base — he wins 88 percent of Republicans, while Heitkamp takes 96 percent of Democrats. Heitkamp leads with independents by 10 percentage points.

The poll was conducted among 625 likely voters from Oct. 26-28.

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