Due to changing political alignments, the Republican Party flipped the 7th district, which was held by 15-term incumbent DemocratCollin Peterson. This marked the first time since the 1944 election that Republicans won every district in Minnesota outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area, after Democrats had done the same just four years prior. This subsequently erased the slim Democratic majority in the state congressional delegation and gave both political parties a tied 4–4 delegation.[1]
The 2nd district is based in the south Twin Cities area. The incumbent was Democrat Angie Craig, who defeated incumbent Republican Jason Lewis with 52.7% of the vote in 2018.[2]
After Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate Adam Charles Weeks died on September 21, 2020, Minnesota Secretary of StateSteve Simon announced that the votes in the November election would not be counted and that a special election would take place on February 9, 2021, due to an obscure state law which said that if a major-party candidate died within 79 days of an election, the election must be postponed.[28][29] Craig challenged the law in court, arguing that Minnesota did not have the authority to delay a federal election; the judge agreed, ordering that the election be held on November 3 as originally planned.[30] Although Republicans appealed the decision, it stood after the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal.[31]
A month after Weeks's death, and a week before the November 3 election, a friend of Weeks publicized a voicemail recording in which Weeks says that Republican donors offered him $15,000 to mount a campaign in order to siphon votes away from Craig. Jeff Schuette, Minnesota Republican Party chair for the Second District, denied involvement in the offer to fund Weeks's campaign.[31]
Omar defeated Melton-Meaux in the primary by a significant margin, a win which was seen as unsurprising, as the 5th has a reputation as being a strong base of progressivism.[50]
The 7th district covers all but the southern end of rural western Minnesota, and includes the cities of Moorhead, Fergus Falls, Alexandria and Willmar. The incumbent was Democrat Collin Peterson, who was reelected with 52.1% of the vote in 2018.[2]
The 8th district is based in the Iron Range and home to the city of Duluth. The incumbent was Republican Pete Stauber, who flipped the district and was elected with 50.7% of the vote in 2018.[2]
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