Two pro-Keystone pipeline Dems have good nights

A pair of red-state Democrats that support the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline won tight Senate races.

The Associated Press has declared Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) the winner of his race in Montana against Rep. Denny Rehberg (R).

And Heidi Heitkamp (D) has scored an upset win in North Dakota against Rep. Rick Berg (R) for the seat that Sen. Kent Conrad (D) is vacating, also according to AP.

Heitkamp emphasized in her campaign her backing for drilling in North Dakota, where production is booming, and support for the Keystone project.

The proposed pipeline would bring Canadian oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries, and is also slated to carry oil from the booming Bakken formation in North Dakota and Montana.

The Keystone project has split Democrats, and President Obama has punted a decision on providing a cross-border permit into 2013.

Keystone is shaping up as a big post-election battle.

Environmental groups that bitterly oppose the project are planning a Nov. 18 demonstration at the White House against the pipeline.

But the oil industry issued a post-election statement urging the victorious president to support the project.

“Right off the bat, the president can approve the Keystone Pipeline and put thousands of Americans to work immediately,” American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard said in a statement Wednesday.

Canadian Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said he expects the Obama administration will approve the project, Bloomberg reports.

Energy was a big topic in the Montana race, and Rehberg received more support from fossil fuel industry groups than Tester.

Rehberg seized the pro-coal mantle in a state that’s home to part of the Powder River Basin, the Northwest’s largest coal repository.
 
Rehberg hit Tester often for the incumbent’s June vote against a bill that would have blocked implementation of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules Republicans say harm the coal industry.
 
That stance helped Rehberg take in about $187,000 from the mining industry, according to campaign spending watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics’ OpenSecrets.org website.

Tester’s vote to preserve EPA rules helped earned him the support of green groups — notably the League of Conservation Voters, which spent $1.5 million on the race.

–Zack Colman contributed.

Updated at 2:54 p.m.