Democrat Heidi Heitkamp, a candidate for the Senate in North Dakota, responded to recent ads attacking her for backing Obamacare with a personal commercial tying her struggle with breast cancer to her support for the Affordable Care Act.
"I’m Heidi Heitkamp and 12 years ago, I beat breast cancer," says Heitkamp in the ad. "When you live through that, political attack ads seem silly."
The former state attorney general also says she would never vote to deny seniors health care insurance coverage or limit anyone's care but acknowledges the new law's shortcomings. She is facing U.S. Rep. Rick Berg, a Republican, in a contest to win Democrat Sen. Kent Conrad's current seat in November. Conrad is not running for re-election.
"There’s good and bad in the health care law and it needs to be fixed," Heitkamp continues in the ad. "But Rick Berg voted to go back to letting insurance companies deny coverage to kids or for pre-existing conditions."
Many have predicted that it will be difficult for Heitkamp to triumph in North Dakota, a Republican stronghold, but a recent poll had her take a 1-point lead over Berg in what has been a highly competitive race.
Despite her being considered too liberal win the seat in November, Heitkamp has maintained some distance from the Democratic Party, criticizing President Barack Obama over issues such as the Keystone XL oil pipeline and his energy policy.