Democrat Angie Craig defeated U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis on Tuesday night in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, winning the southeast suburban district and avenging a narrow loss to the Republican in 2016.
Craig won 53 percent of the vote to Lewis’s 47 percent, helping Democrats reclaim the district that spans beyond suburbs south of the Twin Cities to Scott, Dakota, Goodhue and Wabasha counties. The race had a strong resemblance to their 2016 contest, when Lewis defeated Craig by less than 2 percentage points.
“It was a different race, it was a different environment and … at the end of the day, I’ve been working hard to communicate what I’m fighting for,” Craig said. “We need to get to work for Minnesotans and the people of the country, and that means improving health care, that means investment in infrastructure … that means campaign finance reform and investment in job skills.”
Craig, a former medical technology executive, will become one of five women in Minnesota’s congressional delegation come January. She said campaign finance reform will be the top item on her agenda when she arrives in Washington.
Lewis, a former conservative radio talk show host, was seeking his second term in the U.S. House. In a concession speech Tuesday night, the Republican told supporters he was proud of what he accomplished in Congress.
“Think about what we did in two short years, the greatest regulatory overhaul in a generation. The greatest tax reform in over three decades and we have set the courts and judiciary in this country back on the path to constitutional jurisprudence,” Lewis said. “We came up a little short, but the battle endures.”
Nationally, Democrats flipped enough seats to seize control of the U.S. House, and Republicans bolstered their majority in the U.S. Senate.
In Minnesota, Democrats maintained control of congressional districts in the Twin Cities and expanded their reach into the suburbs, while Republicans flipped a U.S. House seat in Greater Minnesota.
Here’s how the rest of Minnesota’s congressional races shook out.
1ST DISTRICT
Republican Jim Hagedorn defeated Democrat Dan Feehan by a margin of 1,311 votes, or 0.45 percent. He will replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Tim Walz in the 1st District of southern Minnesota.
3RD DISTRICT
In the west metro 3rd District, Democrat Dean Phillips unseated five-term U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen by winning 56 percent of the vote. Phillips, a businessman and heir to the Phillips liquor fortune, will be the first Democrat to represent the district since 1960.
4TH DISTRICT
Democratic U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum was re-elected to the 4th District, which covers the city of St. Paul and many of its northern and eastern suburbs. She garnered 66 percent of votes, defeating Republican Greg Ryan and Legal Marijuana Now candidate Susan Pendergast Sindt.
5TH DISTRICT
State Rep. Ilhan Omar, DFL-Minneapolis, defeated Republican Jennifer Zielinski in the 5th District, making history as the first Somali-American elected to U.S. Congress.
6TH DISTRICT
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer fended off Democrat Ian Todd in the 6th District, winning 61 percent of the vote. Emmer will now serve a third term representing the district that spans from St. Cloud to areas north and west of the Twin Cities metro.
7TH DISTRICT
In the 7th District of western Minnesota, Democratic U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson defeated Republican Dave Hughes for the second time. Peterson won 52 percent of the vote to Hughes’ 48 percent.
8TH DISTRICT
Republican Pete Stauber defeated Democrat Joe Radinovich in the 8th District of northeast Minnesota, with 51 percent of the vote. Stauber helped Republicans flip a seat formerly held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, who is retiring.
Deanna Weniger contributed to this story.