Why have Dems been able to win US Senate Elections in Montana and North Dakota?

[hopper]

Why have Dem been able to win US Senate Elections in Montana and North Dakota for so long? Those states have been red for so long on the Presidential Level. For example Romney carried ND by like 15 points and Heitkamp won  the US Senate Race won by 1 % point in 2012. I would expect the Republicans to win US Senate Elections like they do in the Deep South in MT and ND. Were past ND US Senators able to localize their races like Conrad and Dorgan and not run on the Dem National Platform which is liberal compared to the ND State Party Platform I  would think. I just think of ND and MT as Center-Right and not center left which Conrad and Dorgan are/were.

[Hydera]

The state-wide democratic party in Montana and ND is slightly more conservative than the National Brand.

Heidi Heitkamp and Jon Tester voted Yes for the failed keystone bill introduced by Landrieu in 2014.

Also lots of Native americans in both states and Scandinavian ancestry in ND.

1/3rd of the population in ND is of Scandinavian descent and they lean Democrat compared to other white ethnic groups. If ND had much more prominent urban centre like nearby Minnesota then the state would of been more competitive in Presidential races.  

As for montana they sort of have a lot of conservative leaning labor union members who vote democrat for state offices while voting GOP in presidential races. Union membership is 5% more than the rest of the rural western states.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Because of Guns and agriculture, Kent Conrad was Pro China free trade and Heikamp isnt opposed to free trade either.

[Bojack Horseman]

From what I've read, it's more about personality than anything else. Byron Dorgan won reelection with 58% of the vote in 1994, and Heitkamp ran a positive campaign while her opponent went negative from the get go. I guess they really don't like bitter campaigns up there.

[Badger]

The ND GOP running a lousy candidate against Heitkamp didn't help.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Tester is a genuine moderate. As for Heitkamp, she ran a stellar campaign against a mediocre candidate and probably had some divine assistance.