Minnesota Primary Features Intra-Party Battles and Outside Spending

What Happened

Minnesota held a primary election on Tuesday, with all eight of its U.S. House of Representatives seats up for election. A notable contest is the Democratic primary in the Second Congressional District, where candidates are competing to succeed Rep. Angie Craig, who is running for the U.S. Senate. In this district, three main Democratic candidates are seeking the open seat: state Sen. Matt Klein, progressive state Sen. Matt Little, who has the endorsement of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and Minnesota House member Kaela Berg, who is running as a working-class candidate.

Key Facts

• Minnesota's Second Congressional District is holding a Democratic primary to replace Rep. Angie Craig.
• Rep. Angie Craig is running in the U.S. Senate Democratic Farmer-Labor Party primary.
• Candidates in the Second Congressional District Democratic primary include state Sen. Matt Klein, former state Sen. Matt Little, and Minnesota House member Kaela Berg.
• Matt Little secured the DFL endorsement for the Second Congressional District seat.
• Matt Klein is a state senator and co-founder of the Blue Dog caucus in the state legislature.
• Kaela Berg is a union flight attendant and a Minnesota House member.
• Super PACs, including those affiliated with pro-Israel groups, have transferred millions of dollars to other PACs for independent expenditure ads in primaries.
• The United Democracy Project transferred $1.55 million to BOLD America.
• Democratic Majority for Israel transferred $650,000 to Women Vote.
• There has been limited outside polling for the Second Congressional District race, with the latest data from late May.

Background

The primary election features contests for all eight of Minnesota's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the Second Congressional District, state Sen. Eric Pratt is running unopposed in the Republican primary. Incumbent Representatives Ilhan Omar, Betty McCollum, Kelly Morrison, Brad Finstad, Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber, and Michelle Fischbach are considered highly favored to win their respective primaries.

Why It Matters

The Second Congressional District race is notable for the significant outside spending by Super PACs. Some of these PACs have past ties to pro-Israel groups. This spending aims to influence the primary outcome, potentially benefiting candidates who align with the priorities of these organizations, even if the direct affiliation is masked through secondary PACs supporting different causes or candidates.