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D.C. Dispatches

Cravaack's wife, children moving to New Hampshire

By Devin Henry | 07/18/11

WASHINGTON — Rep. Chip Cravaack’s wife and children are in the process of moving to New Hampshire so she can be closer to her New England-based job.

The couple will sell their Lindstrom, Minn., home and buy a new one in North Branch. Cravaack will generally spend Saturdays and district work weeks in the district and spend Sundays with his family, either in Minnesota or New Hampshire, campaign adviser Ben Golnik said.

Cravaack’s wife, Lori, works for a medical-device company and was recently promoted, meaning she’ll be spending more time working in Boston. The company is in the process of purchasing the couple’s Lindstrom home to help pay for Lori Cravaack’s relocation costs.

With Chip Cravaack in Washington during the business week and Lori Cravaack already spending a lot of time in Boston, the couple’s children generally have to live with a babysitter. With the family living in New Hampshire, the Cravaacks will be close to both their jobs and their children.

“It’s the best thing for our kids,” Chip Cravaack told the Mesabi Daily News. “I’m a father, a parent first.”

Cravaack is a freshman Republican who defeated 18-term Rep. Jim Oberstar in 2010. Cravaack has maintained a “vigorous” public schedule in his district since starting in Congress, Golnik said, participating in town hall meetings and mobile offices throughout the large 8th District.

But his seat is one of the top targets for Democrats in 2012, and three DFLers — former state Sen. Tarryl Clark, Duluth City Councilman Jeff Anderson and former U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan – have announced their candidacy to run against him.

Cravaack raised $224,000 for his re-election bid between April and May. Golnik said that total represented “good progress” for Cravaack’s campaign.

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com.

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Comments (3)

Submitted by Nancy Gertner on July 18, 2011 - 12:13pm.

I think Mr. Cravaack could be a great stay at home dad.

Submitted by Brian Simon on July 18, 2011 - 1:15pm.

Hm. Sounds like if Clark is the DFL nominee to go against Cravaak the 'carpetbagger' attack is now mooted.

Submitted by Lynda Friedman on July 18, 2011 - 1:45pm.

It is a tough choice for Rep Cravaack and his family. However, I believe even in a redistricting year, voters have a right to expect their representative to actually live in the state if not the district. The purpose of that is for him to have some "skin in the game" when it comes to how his votes on tax policies, schools, the environment and health care affect Minnesota. New Hampshire (which has no state income taxes) may be the right choice for his family, but Minnesota voters deserve to have a Minnesota-based representative. However, residency is a problem for many long serving representatives whose real home is Washington DC. It is also a problem for those who marry other representatives or have second marriages outside of Minnesota. I am not sure of any solutions, but there is no doubt Minnesota is best served by representatives who live close to those they represent.