North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp on the back foot before debate

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota is set to debate Republican challenger U.S. Representative Kevin Cramer for the first time on Thursday less than three weeks before an election where she is struggling to hang onto her seat in a state that President Donald Trump won by a landslide in 2016.

The race illustrates the challenge Democrats face in trying to take a majority in the Senate in the Nov. 6 elections, which would require them to pick up two more seats while defending about 10 embattled incumbents, including first-term Heitkamp.

Most polls show Heitkamp’s rival, a three-term congressman, leading.

A prior debate between the two was canceled as the Senate debated Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who had been accused of sexual assault. Heitkamp’s decision to vote with fellow Democrats against Kavanaugh may have hurt her in this deeply Republican state.

She was targeted by ads and money from outside group supporting Kavanaugh, but declined to cross party lines to vote for him after California professor Christine Blasey Ford said he sexually assaulted her when they were high school students in 1982.

Heitkamp faced a further setback this week when she was forced to apologize for naming victims of sexual assault without their consent in a print advertisement criticizing Cramer for his comments on the #MeToo movement.

On Thursday, Heitkamp attempted to tie Cramer to Republican efforts to cut entitlement benefits, including the popular Medicare and Social Security programs for retirees.

North Dakotans “who’ve spent their whole lives working hard shouldn’t have to worry about retiring with dignity,” she said on Twitter.

For his part, Cramer has tied himself closely to Trump. His website touts his “A” rating from the National Rifle Association and last month he launched an advertisement touting success in creating jobs.

Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California; Editing by Leslie Adler