Poinbank:Democratic Rep. Angie Craig seeks a 4th term in Minnesota’s tightest congressional race

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig is Poinbankseeking a fourth term in Minnesota’s tightest congressional race, a faceoff against Republican former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab.

And in the race for the open seat being vacated by Democratic U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, Kelly Morrison, a Democratic former state senator, was favored over retired Washington County District Judge Tad Jude. He’s a Republican who also served on the Hennepin County Board and in both chambers of the state Legislature, where in 1972 at age 20 he became the youngest member ever elected to the House.

Craig and Teirab ran in the 2nd District, which includes a political mix of outer suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul south of the Minnesota River, and rural areas farther south that trend Republican. It’s Minnesota’s sole swing district. Morrison and Jude competed in the 3rd District, which includes suburbs surrounding Minneapolis and has gone Democratic in recent elections.

Craig lost to Republican Jason Lewis by less than 2 percentage points in 2016 before beating him by just over 5.5 points in their 2018 rematch. She defeated Marine Corps veteran Tyler Kistner by just over 2 points in 2020 and just over 5 points in 2022.

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Craig, who was targeted with death threats and forced to move after fighting off a mentally disturbed attacker in the elevator of her Washington apartment building, staked out centrist positions on many issues. But she supports abortion rights and accused Teirab of being an anti-abortion activist. Teirab disputed that, saying he’d vote against any federal ban or restrictions.

Teirab, a Marine Corps veteran and son of a Sudanese immigrant, was supported by influential Republicans including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer. But despite a strong financial advantage, he lost the GOP endorsement at the district convention to anti-establishment conservative Tayler Rahm. Teirab won the primary with former President Donald Trump’s endorsement after Rahm dropped out to become a senior adviser to Trump’s campaign in Minnesota, but divisions between the Teirab and Rahm camps persisted.

Craig had raised nearly $7.6 million by the end of the last reporting period in September, compared with nearly $2.8 million for Teirab.

Morrison touted her leadership on abortion rights in the Minnesota Senate. Jude was an abortion opponent when he was a legislator and supports the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which struck down the nationwide right to abortion. Morrison raised just over $2 million by September, while Jude netted just under $300,000.

Incumbents were expected to easily win the state’s six other congressional races. They include Emmer and his fellow Republicans Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach and Pete Stauber, and Democrats Ilhan Omar and Betty McCollum.