Rick Berg (R-N.D.)

Above all, Berg has been praised for his authenticity. "You can't teach someone to be genuine," NRCC regional press secretary Tom Erickson said of Berg.

Tea Party

In 2010, Berg was a favorite of the Republican establishment in Washington. But that fact may not hold much sway in a year when conservative forces across the country are bucking the establishment in favor of the grassroots Tea Party movement. Berg has attended Tea Party events, but wasn't endorsed by a Tea Party group.

Health-Care Reform

Berg is in favor of repealing President Obama's 2010 health-care overhaul, or repealing parts of the law. "There is nothing in this bill that's gonna lower the cost of health care," Berg told a local radio show in May 2010.

Immigration

Berg opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the country. But on a local radio show, he failed to directly address whether or not he would strengthen laws against illegal immigrants. "We have to enforce the laws that we have on the books," Berg said simply.

Taxes

Berg supports extending the tax cuts passed under George W. Bush, but didn't specify for how long a period. "We have to see what happens here in the next couple of months, quite frankly," he told a local newspaper.

Berg also favors repealing the estate tax.

Social Security

Berg opposes privatizing Social Security and wants to find creative ways to decrease the program's deficit without raising payroll taxes or reducing benefits.

Berg told a local paper he would drill for oil and gas in national parks to raise money to fund Social Security, including North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Public outcry encouraged Berg to retract his statement about drilling in Theodore Roosevelt Park, but he restated that he supported more drilling for oil, gas and mineral deposits on federally-owned land.

Energy

Berg has called for increased drilling within the U.S. to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. "North Dakota has massive reserves of coal, oil, and renewable energy," he told the North Dakota Union Farmer, "and we have proven that we can develop these sources at competitive rates while using environmentally sound methods.

He has said that the government should sell leases to allow horizontal drilling inside national parks.

Berg also supports the expansion of nuclear power, and wants to streamline the approval process for building new plants, with the caveat that plants must have proper regulatory oversight to ensure safety.

The Economy

Berg has criticized the $700 billion bailout the Bush admininstration crafted in the wake of the financial crisis to buoy failing banks.

"We have a process called bankruptcy laws in America," Berg said. "If those were followed, we'd have had more turbulence, but I think our economy would be growing back right now, and the forecast would be real positive."

"I think the federal government went in and picked and choosed who we're going to buck up, who we're not going to buck up, and I think that created more uncertainty," Berg added.

Berg also criticized the Obama administration's stimulus package, which he said failed to keep unemployment as low as promised.

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