Moderate GOP state Sen. Jim Abeler faces tough challenge as top Democratic target
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In the northwest suburbs, Minnesota Democrats see a top target in a moderate Republican senator who has hung on to his Anoka area seat for four terms: Sen. Jim Abeler.
School principal Angela Nelson, Abeler’s challenger, hopes to swing the seat to DFL control. It’s one of a handful of competitive races that could decide control of the Minnesota Senate heading into 2027.
While Abeler represents the region in the Senate, two Democrats — Zack Stephenson and Kari Rehrauer — represent it in the House. And Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump here by three percentage points. In his last win in 2022, Abeler won by only 186 votes out of more than 34,000 cast.
“You are at ground zero of the battle for the control of the Minnesota Senate right here,” Sen. Nick Frentz, the Senate DFL campaign chair, told volunteers for Nelson ahead of a door knock Sunday in Coon Rapids. “And we are going to win it this time.”
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Outside money has been dumped into the district to influence voters’ views on the candidates. And with one week left until Election Day, both candidates have been phone banking and door knocking to sway voters.
As he biked door-to-door last week across the district that includes parts of Andover, Anoka and Coon Rapids, Abeler highlighted his bipartisan work in the Legislature. First elected to the Minnesota House in 1998, he said his willingness to break with his party has given him staying power here.
“I still care. Because I think Minnesota is in a real hard place these days, and experience does help. Institutional memory does make a difference,” Abeler said. “Whoever wins as governor, I can work with either one of them. … I'm eager to be part of the solutions to keep us moving to be truly the North Star state.”
Abeler said he hears from several groups at the door — Republicans and Democrats, Trump fans and foes, and a lot of disaffected folks looking for government leaders to get along.
“They want us to work together and get something done, and the best work is when it's done collaboratively, where you trade off ideas, where you come up with the best idea,” Abeler said.
Nelson, who is running for office for the first time, said the district is also looking for something different.
“They're really looking for change, a change in leadership. We've had the same leadership here since I was in high school, and that was quite a long time ago,” Nelson said. “So it's time for some new perspective, new energy, and people are excited about that.”
Nelson said her experience leading a school would help her in elected office.
“Part of my job is that I listen and I learn from folks. I get perspective, and then I make a decision that's based on what's best for the biggest number of people without harming others, and I would say, as a senator, one of your biggest jobs is using your vote as your voice,” Nelson said.
She said she’d support legislation placing new restrictions on firearms and federal immigration agents — bills Abeler voted against.
“You can't say one thing and then vote another way. I'm committed to being honest and transparent, and then using my voice in my vote for my community,” Nelson said.
Attack ads on the airwaves
The flood of outside money can be seen in TV ads and mailers. Ads targeting Abeler allege he passed policies that allowed him to enrich himself while in office. And those targeting Nelson aim to tie her to higher state government spending and fraud in state programs.
Nelson and Abeler said they — along with voters they talk to — are sick of the noise.
“People can see right through that — that I'm passionate about helping my community. I'm an award-winning principal at an award-winning school under my leadership,” Nelson said. “The fact that they're kind of using those things against me, I think, just shows how worried they are that I'm going to flip this seat.”
Abeler said there should be more of an enforcement mechanism to keep campaign smears based on falsehoods off the air.
“I'm kind of numb to it, but it's not good for the industry, the government. It's not good for politics and what serves people,” Abeler said. “Politics is a means to get good work done, and so it shouldn't be ugly and painful.”
Over the next week, the ads will keep rolling. But so will Nelson and Abeler — she’s on an e-scooter, he’ll be on his bike — making their way to every door they can before Election Day.
