MANDAN, N.D. (AP) _ After scratching out a victory in North
Dakota's hotly contested U.S. Senate race, Democrat Heidi Heitkamp
has gone into hiding.
Heitkamp was refusing to talk to reporters Wednesday. She passed
along messages through campaign workers that she's taking Wednesday
off to be with her family and will answer questions Thursday.
Campaign workers gathered at the new senator's Mandan home for a
celebration, but people at the house said Heitkamp wasn't there.
Her nearby campaign headquarters was locked, and her press
spokesman said Heitkamp was elsewhere.
Republican Rep. Rick Berg was favored to win the race, but he
conceded Wednesday that he'd lost. Heitkamp prevailed by about
3,000 votes.
Heitkamp released a statement commending Berg, thanking North
Dakotans and promising to work hard as a senator.
