The Latest: Jaeger: Eighth term will be his last

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The Latest on Election Day in North Dakota (all times local):

12:05 a.m.

Newly re-elected Secretary of State Al Jaeger says his eighth term will be his last.

Jaeger, a Republican, beat Josh Boschee, a Democratic state representative from Fargo, on Tuesday.

Jaeger’s victory came despite being snubbed by his own party and attacked by opponents as behind the times. Jaeger says those attacks were unfair.

The 74-year-old Jaeger was first elected in 1992. He had to gather signatures to run as an independent after the GOP rejected him at its state convention in favor of Mandan businessman Will Gardner.

Both Gardner and Boschee portrayed Jaeger as behind the times in running the office charged with overseeing elections. Gardner quit the race after an older disorderly conduct conviction came to light.

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11:25 p.m.

Democrat Heidi Heitkamp says serving in the U.S. Senate was the “highest honor” of her life.

Heitkamp issued a statement Tuesday after losing her seat to three-term U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer.

Heitkamp, who served just one term, says she brought common sense to the Senate and thought every day how she could “fight for rural America.”

Heitkamp narrowly won her first term in the sharply conservative state. She sought a second term by portraying herself as a maverick who wasn’t afraid to buck her own party - or President Donald Trump.

Heitkamp raised more than $27 million for her re-election campaign. That was almost five times as much as Cramer.

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10:50 p.m.

Republican Secretary of State Al Jaeger has won another term despite being snubbed by his own party and attacked by opponents as out of date.

Jaeger beat Josh Boschee, a Democratic state representative from Fargo, on Tuesday.

Jaeger was first elected in 1992. He had to gather signatures to run as an independent after the GOP rejected him at its state convention in favor of Mandan businessman Will Gardner.

Both Gardner and Boschee portrayed Jaeger as behind the times in running the office charged with overseeing elections. Gardner quit the race after an older disorderly conduct conviction came to light.

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10:45 p.m.

North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Lisa Fair McEvers has won re-election.

McEvers won the 10-year term over longtime Bismarck trial lawyer Bob Bolinske Sr.

Bolinske also ran unsuccessfully in 2016.

McEvers was appointed in 2014 by then-Gov. Jack Dalrymple to fill two of the four remaining years of retiring Justice Mary Maring’s unexpired term. She won election in 2016 to fill out the final two years of Maring’s term.

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10:40 p.m.

Republican Kevin Cramer says his victory over North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp was the “honor” of his life.

Cramer ousted Heitkamp on Tuesday, persuading North Dakota voters that his emphatic conservatism would serve them better than her occasional independence from her own party.

Cramer, in his victory speech and Bismarck State College, says President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called to congratulate him.

Heitkamp raised more than $27 million for her re-election. That was almost five times as much as Cramer.

Cramer says “when you put up a bunch of money to push a bad message, it only makes it worse, not better.”

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10:30 p.m.

North Dakota Democrats might have something to celebrate in the form of an amendment to the North Dakota Constitution meant to overhaul government ethics.

The so-called “anti-corruption” measure was leading by a narrow margin as the final votes were being tallied. Although the initiative is sponsored by a bi-partisan group, it’s something Democrats have fought unsuccessfully for years to do.

Backers say the measure will add transparency and accountability to government. They raised more than $400,000 to push it, with much of the money coming from left-leaning out-of-state groups.

Opponents argued the state has no ethics problem. In the Republican-led Legislature, leaders said the measure isn’t needed because lawmakers already follow high standards of conduct. The American Civil Liberties Union opposed the measure, saying it restricts political speech and advocacy.

10:15 p.m.

North Dakota residents have voted to explicitly bar non-U.S. citizens from voting in federal, state and local elections.

The outcome in Tuesday’s election changes the North Dakota Constitution. Supporters said they believed it was necessary to clarify ambiguous wording, even though it’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote in the state.

Opponents called the measure pointless and said it played politics with the constitution.

Conservatives heavily promoted it, with a key supporter saying he hoped it could help the GOP in the state’s close Senate race.

Secretary of State Al Jaeger has said there have been some reports of non-U.S. citizens voting in North Dakota but nothing was ever proven.

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10:05 p.m.

North Dakota voters have rejected a ballot measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana.

The measure defeated Tuesday would have made it legal for people 21 and older to grow, possess and distribute marijuana.

It also would have wiped away the records of anyone convicted of a marijuana-related crime that would have been legal under the new measure. That would have included tens of thousands of criminal records, and the attorney general’s office says it would have been expensive.

Opponents argued that legalizing marijuana would lead to a rise in violent crimes, impaired-driving fatalities and workplace problems. Supporters argued that legalizing pot would free up law enforcement to tackle more serious crimes.

Nine states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana. North Dakota voters in 2016 legalized medical marijuana.

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9:50 p.m.

Republican Kevin Cramer has ousted North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp.

Heitkamp narrowly won her first term in the sharply conservative state. She sought a second by portraying herself as a maverick who wasn’t afraid to buck her own party - or President Donald Trump.

She warned that Trump’s trade war would damage North Dakota farmers and that Cramer’s health care policy would hurt North Dakotans.

But Cramer, a three-term congressman, argued that Heitkamp wasn’t the conservative the state needs. He stood strongly with Trump, who remains popular in North Dakota.

A race that was already difficult for Heitkamp appeared to become even harder after she voted against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

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9:30 p.m.

Republican Wayne Stenehjem has won his sixth term as attorney general.

The former private attorney and state legislator defeated Grand Forks trial lawyer and Democrat David Thompson.

Stenehjem was first elected attorney general in 2000 and has been re-elected easily since.

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9 p.m.

Republican Kevin Cramer is leading North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in early returns.

Heitkamp narrowly won her first term in the sharply conservative state. She sought a second by portraying herself as a maverick who wasn’t afraid to buck her own party - or President Donald Trump.

She warned that Trump’s trade war would damage North Dakota farmers and that Cramer’s health care policy would hurt North Dakotans.

But Cramer, a three-term congressman, argued that Heitkamp wasn’t the conservative the state needs. He stood strongly with Trump, who remains popular in North Dakota.

A race that was already difficult for Heitkamp appeared to become even harder after she voted against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Co

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8:55 p.m.

A measure to legalize marijuana in North Dakota was trailing in early returns.

The state approved medicinal marijuana in 2016, but the rollout has been slow and some voters said Tuesday that the state is not ready for recreational pot.

Law enforcement has lined up solidly against the broad legalization, arguing it would lead to more violent crime, driving accidents and workplace issues. The state also estimated it would be expensive.

Thirty-nine-year-old Kelly Marthaller, a heavy equipment operator in Bismarck, said he voted against legalization after getting advice from his brother, who is a doctor and lives in Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal. He said recreational pot “needs more time.”

Backers argued the legalization would free up law enforcement to tackle more serious crimes.

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8:46 p.m.

Republican Kelly Armstrong has defeated Democrat Mac Schneider to keep North Dakota’s U.S. House seat in GOP hands.

Armstrong, a state senator from Dickinson and former state party chairman, will take the seat Kevin Cramer left to run for Senate.

The 41-year-old Armstrong has strong connections to the oil industry, including billionaire Harold Hamm, a key developer.

It was a low-key campaign between the two men, who largely agreed on fewer federal regulations and giving more control to local governments.

The 39-year-old Schneider is a former state senator who lost his bid for re-election in 2016.

Republicans have held the seat since 2010, when Rick Berg defeated Earl Pomeroy.

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8 p.m.

The polls have closed across North Dakota.

The last polls in the state closed at 8 p.m. in Cass County, which includes the state’s largest city of Fargo. Polls closed at 7 p.m. local time in the capital city of Bismarck, in Burleigh County.

North Dakota’s Secretary of State’s Office said voting went relatively smoothly during the day, though a professor helping monitor voting in Indian Country says some people had problems producing the required documents to vote.

Voters need a provable street address, and many people on reservations don’t know theirs and don’t have IDs that list it.

The Secretary of State’s Office said 150,894 people cast ballots in early voting. That was an increase from 2012 and 2016, both presidential election years.

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2:15 p.m.

North Dakota’s Secretary of State’s Office says voting is going relatively smoothly, though a professor helping monitor voting in Indian Country says some people are having problems producing the required documents to vote.

State Elections Director John Arnold says he hasn’t heard of any widespread problems at reservation polling sites. But Professor Carla Fredericks with the University of Colorado’s American Indian Law Clinic says dozens and perhaps hundreds of American Indians are having issues with the state’s recently tightened voter identification laws.

Voters need a provable street address, and many people on reservations don’t know theirs and don’t have IDs that list it.

Tribes and nonprofits worked before the election to provide free qualifying ID to thousands of members. But Fredericks says it’s still a problem for some.

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11:35 a.m.

North Dakotans who are turning out to vote have a lot on their minds, especially the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Heidi Heitkamp and Republican challenger Kevin Cramer.

Forty-three-year-old Bismarck banker Heidi Wahl-McDonald says she favors Heitkamp because of what she’s done to help farmers and businesses, and because Heitkamp doesn’t always vote along party lines.

Eighteen-year-old Bismarck retail store worker Connor Gref says he researched the candidates’ claims about one another, and found Cramer to be more truthful and credible.

The outcome of the race could be key to control of the Senate. But it’s not the only thing drawing voters. Other big issues being decided are whether to make recreational marijuana legal, whether to explicitly bar non-citizens from voting, and whether to create an ethics commission and restrict lobbying.

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10:15 a.m.

A lot of North Dakotans still vote on Election Day, but an increasing number are voting early.

The Secretary of State’s Office says 150,894 people cast ballots in early voting at poll sites or through absentee and vote-by-mail ballots.

The total surpassed those from 2012 and 2016 - both presidential election years in which voter turnout is traditionally higher than in midterm elections like the one this year. In 2016, the number was 134,805. In 2012, it was 136,685.

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7 a.m.

It’s a cool, blustery Election Day in North Dakota.

The National Weather Service forecast says highs will be in the 20s and 30s, but the wind will make it feel much colder. There’s a wind advisory in effect for western and central North Dakota through the evening, with gusts up to 45 mph.

Snow also is likely in some areas, with patchy blowing snow north of Lake Sakakawea and east of the Missouri River.

Polls are beginning to open across the state. They’ll stay open until 7 p.m. local time.

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00:35 a.m.

Nine months after Kevin Cramer changed his mind about running for Senate, he’ll find out if voters agree it was the right one.

After entering the race in February after a personal plea from President Donald Trump, Cramer tied himself closer than ever to Trump in hopes of knocking off Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp. Heitkamp struck back by portraying Cramer as a yes-man and playing up her independence from her own party.

Voters Tuesday were also weighing whether to legalize marijuana. Supporters relied mostly on a shoe-leather campaign after they didn’t attract much help from big national groups.

The state’s House seat was also up for grabs, with Republican Kelly Armstrong seen as a favorite to take Cramer’s place.