It's going to take a lot to oust Blue Dog Democrat Collin Peterson from his Seventh District seat, but GOP-endorsed challenger Lee Byberg is looking for his Achilles heal.

The 47-year-old's campaign has hired a prominent Republican polling firm, Public Opinion Strategies, to survey the fairly conservative district in western Minnesota. The company's co-founder Glen Bolger will oversee this effort from their Alexandria office.

Last year, Bolger was the pollster for Bob McDonnell's winning gubernatorial campaign in Virginia.

"It's a big hire," said Byberg campaign consultant Maggie Osskopp. "He's a very intelligent man and knows what it takes to get a flavor across a district. ... We know that Lee is the man for the job, and so we want to give ourselves as a campaign every tool and every resource to pull off a victory on November 2."

It's also likely an expensive hire for the campaign, given that they only took in about $35,000 last quarter -- not to mention a $55,000 loan from Byberg himself.

Osskopp also consults for Republican John Kline and is married to Kline's district director, Mike Osskopp.