Minnesota’s eight U.S. House seats are on the ballot. Here are four races to watch.

The races will help determine control of Congress for the next two years.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 6, 2024 at 12:00PM
GOP U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber watches as challenger Jen Schultz speaks during a congressional candidate forum at Farmfest on Aug. 6. (Shari L. Gross/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A closely watched swing-district battle, a rematch in northeastern Minnesota and a race to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips are among the state’s congressional races to watch this November.

The elections for Minnesota’s eight U.S. House seats will help determine who controls the chamber for the next two years. Election Day is Nov. 5.

Here are four U.S. House races to watch in Minnesota over the next two months.

Craig vs. Teirab

Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig is seeking a fourth term representing the swing Second District, which encompasses south suburbs and Dakota, Scott and Le Sueur counties. She and her wife, Cheryl Greene, have four sons and recently moved from Eagan to Prior Lake.

Craig has focused on lowering health care costs, sponsoring a bill to cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 per month. She’s also voted to codify abortion rights into federal law and requested the Biden administration take executive action to improve security at the southern border.

The Democrat has faced tough races since she was first elected in 2018. She defeated Republican Tyler Kistner by just over 2 percentage points in 2020, and then beat him by a wider margin two years later.

Craig is facing a well-funded challenger in Joe Teirab, a former federal prosecutor and Marine who’s backed by former President Donald Trump. Teirab helped prosecute some of the cases involving Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit that is accused of stealing $250 million from a federal program aimed at providing meals to children during the pandemic.

Teirab, who lives in Burnsville, says he wants to lower taxes, cut government spending and strengthen security at the southern border.

Morrison vs. Jude

Minnesota’s Third District, which includes western Twin Cities suburbs, will get a new representative this November regardless of who wins. Phillips, a Democrat who’s represented the district since 2018, chose not to run for re-election after mounting a primary challenge against President Joe Biden earlier this year.

Republicans held the wealthy district for more than 50 years until Phillips was elected. The district took a progressive turn after Trump was elected in 2016.

Democrat Kelly Morrison, a former state senator from Deephaven, is hoping to succeed Phillips. She’s a practicing OB-GYN who served in the Legislature from 2019 through this past June. Morrison helped lead state legislative efforts to protect abortion rights and wants to continue that fight in Congress.

Morrison is facing Republican Tad Jude, a former state legislator, county commissioner and judge. Jude, who lives in Maple Grove, unsuccessfully ran for Hennepin County Attorney in 2022.

Jude said he supports eliminating taxes on tips and Social Security income. He’s also said he would stand with Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

Morrison has outraised and outspent Jude by large margins, pulling in about $1.36 million between Oct. 1 and July 24, according to her federal campaign finance report. Jude entered the race early this year and reported raising about $163,000 between Jan. 1 and July 24.

Finstad vs. Bohman

GOP U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad has represented southern Minnesota’s First District since 2022. Finstad is a former state legislator and fourth-generation farmer who lives in the New Ulm area with his wife, Jackie. They have seven children.

Democrat Tim Walz represented the district for six terms until he became governor in 2019. The district has since swung to Republicans, with Finstad defeating his Democratic opponent by 11 percentage points in 2022.

Finstad has established a conservative record in Congress, voting against sending $60 billion in aid to Ukraine and frequently opposing Biden’s priorities. He supports increasing the country’s oil and gas production, and he said the legal immigration system should be simplified and tied to the country’s workforce needs.

Democrat Rachel Bohman is a former Hennepin County elections chief and Rochester Township board member. She lives in Rochester with her husband and two daughters.

Bohman has said she wants to see more federal investment in affordable housing and an expanded child tax credit. She supports increasing the number of federal agents at the southern border and improving legal immigration pathways. And she said she’d support federal abortion rights legislation.

Stauber vs. Schultz

In northeastern Minnesota, Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber is being challenged again by Jen Schultz, a University of Minnesota Duluth economics professor and former DFL state representative. Stauber defeated Schultz by nearly 15 percentage points in 2022.

Stauber is seeking a fourth term. He’s a retired police officer and former professional hockey player who lives in Hermantown with his wife, Jodi, an Iraq war veteran. They’re raising six children.

Stauber supports increasing domestic energy production, promoting mining and balancing the federal budget. He’s said he wants to restart construction of the southern border wall. The congressman opposes abortion but said he supports in-vitro fertilization (IVF), adoption and other ways to grow families.

Schultz lives in Duluth with her husband and two teenage sons. She represented Duluth for eight years in the Legislature, helping secure bonding projects for Duluth and advance health care and prescription drug affordability measures.

If elected, Schultz said she would fight against price gouging and work with states to increase housing supply. She said she supports responsible mining and would seek to protect reproductive rights.

about the writer

Ryan Faircloth

Politics and government reporter

Ryan Faircloth covers Minnesota politics and government for the Star Tribune.

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