Rep. Collin Peterson, a Minnesota Democrat, was defeated by his Republican challenger, Michelle Fischbach, by about 13 percentage points, ending a 30-year tenure in Congress.
Peterson, 76, is one of 30 House Democrats representing a district won by President Trump in 2016. Trump beat Hillary Clinton 62% to 31% in Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District, the biggest margin of victory in any district the Democrats are defending this year. At press time, Trump was replicating that lead in the district over Democratic challenger Joe Biden even as the president lost statewide.
Fischbach, 54, has campaigned on being a reliable Trump ally in Congress. She previously served as lieutenant governor and was the first woman to become president of the Minnesota state Senate. Her win is a notable GOP pickup and the end of an era for right-leaning Democrats.
The district was a top priority for Republicans seeking to take back the House after losing the majority in the 2018 midterm elections. Fischbach is one of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s “Young Guns.”
Although Peterson has survived previous Republican wave elections in 1994, 2010, and 2014, he was reelected two years ago with just 52% of the vote. Republicans hoped that with Trump on top of the ballot, making a push to flip the state this year might prove to be too much for Peterson to overcome.
First elected in 1990, Peterson is among a handful of remaining centrist Democrats. He also has a mostly anti-abortion voting record, making him part of the dwindling number of Midwestern social conservatives in his party. This has, in recent years, helped him win some Republican crossover votes. The Star Tribune called Peterson the “only conservative Democrat left.”
Fischbach has said he only pretends to be conservative in the district to win votes. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a liberal California Democrat, has also become a top issue in the race. “What we need to do is have you come up here and tell them I’m a completely soulless S.O.B.,” Peterson told a local newspaper he said to Pelosi.
With the Democrats in control of the House for the first time since the 2010 midterm elections, Peterson chairs the Agriculture Committee. He has wooed his rural constituents in previous elections.
Democrats are projected to hold their majority in the House despite falling short of their expected landslide Tuesday night.
