With nearly $3 million in the bank, incumbent Democrat U.S. Representative Angela Craig is sitting on a major financial advantage in her race for reelection to Minnesota’s Second Congressional district.
Some of that money is left over from her previous race. FEC records show that for the 2022 election cycle Craig has raised $2,635,506.03 and has a war chest of $2,921,566.22.
Redistricting didn’t change the partisan makeup of MN-5 at all. Nate Silver’s fivethirtyeight gave the 5th district a partisan rating of D+2 both before and after the new maps were adopted. The Cook Political Report gives the race itself a “tossup” rating.
Craig is the first openly gay person elected to Congress from Minnesota and has represented Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District since 2019. In 2016, Craig ran for and lost in the general election for MN-2. In 2018, she won election, receiving 52.6% of the vote. In 2020, she defeated Tyler Kistner, 48.18% to 45.92%.
Accord to legislation tracked by fivethirtyeight, Craig’s voting record shows that she is a rubber-stamp for the Biden administration agenda, having voted 100% in line with it as of January 2022. When Donald Trump was president, Craig voted against his position 94.5% of the time.
Prior to serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Craig worked for St. Jude Medical in the human resources and communications department from 2005-2017.
The only other candidate in the field who has filed FEC paperwork, former Marine and Republican candidate Tyler Kistner, has raised $1,076,505.65 and has $170,598.11 in the bank. There’s currently a massive gap between Craig’s $2,921,566.22 and Kistner’s $170,598.11. Kistner is aiming for a rematch of the 2020 election with Craig in November.
Kistner is participating in the NRCC Young Guns program. His campaign is currently in the On the Radar phase. The NRCC has previously listed the Minnesota 5th Congressional District as a target for takeover. According to his bio on the NRCC website:
Tyler Kistner was born and raised in Minnesota. He recently got off active duty after nine years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps. Tyler served in the elite Marine Special Operations Forces, the Marine Raiders. Shortly after graduation, Tyler commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps to fulfill his passion and desire to give back and serve this great nation. He has carried with him that sense of servant leadership and faith through his time in the U.S. Marine Corps and Special Operations Command to serve others and our country before himself. Like so many Americans, Tyler became frustrated with the gridlock and constant partisanship in Congress. Tyler Kistner decided to run for Congress to build a better, safer, and more prosperous future for our generation and future generations to come.
The primaries for Minnesota’s 2nd district are slated to occur on August 9, 2022. The filing deadline for candidates is May 31, 2022. More candidates for either Democrat or Republican primary still have time to file.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Minnesota Sun and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR.
