Minnesota’s 1st and 2nd districts headline U.S. House races

Two congressional seats in Minnesota’s southern section carried more weight than the rest Tuesday, as most U.S. House incumbents looked likely to punch a ticket back to Washington.

There will be one new delegation member no matter what because the current representative didn’t seek a new term. That’s in the 2nd Congressional District, which runs from the suburbs south of the Twin Cities toward farm-heavy towns.

One incumbent, Republican Rep. Brad Finstad, faced a stiff challenge from political newcomer and DFL nominee Jake Johnson, a teacher. They’re running in the 1st Congressional District that stretches across the Minnesota-Iowa border from Wisconsin to South Dakota on either end.

That competition attracted a swell of outside money late in the race. Groups poured about $10 million into ads, canvassing and other voter outreach from the August primary through the final days. That’s on top of what the candidates spent themselves.

Democrats had been shut out of the district since Tim Walz served the final of his six terms. He left to run for governor, a job he won in 2018.

Fallout from President Donald Trump’s tariffs and rising fuel prices since the start of the Iran war loomed large. The district’s heavy agricultural bent made the soaring fertilizer and diesel fuel costs more acute. Pullbacks in funding for Medicaid, which are squeezing rural hospitals and clinics, were also discussed in the campaign.

In the 2nd District, Matt Little had the DFL nomination in his race against Republican Eric Pratt. Democratic Rep. Angie Craig gave up the seat to run for her party’s U.S. Senate nomination, falling short. Pratt, a former banker, and Little, an attorney and former Lakeville mayor, both served in the state Senate.

In a debate hosted by MPR News, Pratt presented himself as an independent voice in the Minnesota Senate and said the bills he passed were bipartisan. Meanwhile, Little pitched himself as the one who would stand up to the Trump administration.

The debate covered a variety of topics including whether the next House should investigate any actions of the Trump administration.

Little said the House must investigate “corruption and self-dealing” and actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Pratt said Congress should “look within itself” and reestablish itself as a counterbalance to the executive branch.

Little ran on holding ICE criminally accountable for its actions in Minnesota and championing Medicare for All — a vision for universal, government-run health insurance.

Pratt’s affordability plan includes rooting out fraud, expanding the federal child tax credit and potentially increasing Social Security’s full retirement age.

Minnesota’s six other U.S. House incumbents were viewed as favored to win new terms. These are the matchups:

• Democratic Rep. Kelly Morrison, a first-term lawmaker, in the suburban 3rd District, against first-time candidate Tyler Bass, a Republican and fitness company owner.

• Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum, the longest-serving delegation member, in the 4th District anchored in St. Paul and its surrounding suburbs, against Republican Paul Wikstrom, an engineer.

• Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a national figure who has been a frequent Trump target, in the 5th District that includes Minneapolis, against Republican John Nagel, a former State Patrol officer.

• Republican Rep. Tom Emmer, who is part of House leadership, in the 6th District that runs from the northern suburbs to St. Cloud, against DFLer Doug Chapin, a former college professor and congressional staffer.

• Republican Rep. Michelle Fischbach, a former lieutenant governor and state legislator, in the sprawling 7th District covering much of western Minnesota, against DFLer Erik Osberg, a former small business owner.

• Republican Rep. Pete Stauber, a fourth-term member, in a large district extending from just north of the Twin Cities to the Canadian border, against DFLer Trina Swanson, a former federal employee who left her government job after Trump returned to office.

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