After fifteen terms in Congress, Rep. Collin Peterson will not be going back to Washington.
Peterson was an aberration. Elected in 1991, he was the last original Blue Dog Democrat, a group of conservative leaning Democrats in Congress. He managed to hold on to his district in 2016 even though President Donald Trump won it by over 30 points.
In 2020, running against Trump-backed candidate and former Minnesota Lt. Governor Michelle Fischbach, his brand of independent conservative politics was not enough. Fischbach won the race with 53 percent of the vote to Peterson’s 40.
“There was just no reason for him to stay there,” said Tom Marthaler of Osakis, who supported Fischbach in the race. “He had become detached from his constituents. I won’t sit here and say that he didn’t serve the district well, but he was no longer a good fit.”
An agricultural district
In Minnesota’s Seventh District, the largest by land size in the state, agriculture is at the center of the economy. According to the USDA’s 2017 agricultural census, the district ranks fourth in the country for family farms, sixth in total agriculture sales and first in sugar beet production.
[image_credit]Fischbach for Congress[/image_credit][image_caption]Michelle Fischbach[/image_caption]
Peterson is also a farmer and a long-time supporter of the sugar beet industry, which he’s aided significantly as a ranking member, and now the chair, of the House Agriculture Committee.
“The Seventh District of Minnesota is very rural, and we talk an awful lot about ag, but there’s all kinds of things that keep rural American moving,” Kelly Erickson, a farmer and board member for American Crystal Sugar, the sugar beet agricultural cooperative based in Moorhead, said in July. “That’s our rural hospitals, hardware stores, everything we depend on. And we depend on Collin Peterson.”
While agricultural interests around the country collectively helped fund Peterson’s campaign, Erickson led the most expensive effort: a sugar beet backed Super PAC — called The Committee for Stronger Rural Communities — solely devoted to keeping Peterson in office.
In the end, the group spent more than $1,000,000 trying to keep Peterson, the “godfather” of the sugar beet industry, in his seat.
“Collin’s bipartisan record on health care, lowering prescription drug prices, trade and farm policy, was simply not enough to overcome the partisan bitterness that is dividing our nation,” Erickson said in a statement after Peterson’s loss. “We… still believe that we can work together in an effort toward compromise and doing what’s right. To that end, we offer our congratulations to Michelle Fischbach, and our members look forward to working with her on the issues that matter most to rural Minnesotans.”
Shifting Republican
The district has been shifting more and more Republican over the years, but Republicans have had no success before now in taking the district from Peterson. And they’ve definitely tried before.
The last time Republicans spent this much money on the Seventh District, Peterson defeated state Sen. Torrey Westrom by more than 8 percentage points in 2014. But the margin after Westrom continued to get slimmer. Peterson’s next Republican opponent, Dave Hughes, a retired Air Force major, had minimal support from the national GOP, but was still able to shrink Peterson’s margin to 5.1 points in 2016. In a rematch against Hughes in 2018, Peterson won by 4.3 percentage points.
This time, Republicans in Washington placed their bet on Fischbach, a long-time state senator and former Lt. Governor. She was recruited by Rep. Tom Emmer, Minnesota’s Six District Congressman and chair of the National Republican Campaign Committee (House Republicans’ campaign arm). She received the endorsement of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and President Donald Trump.
[image_caption]Dave Hughes[/image_caption]
Even after losing the endorsement, Hughes continued to challenge Fischbach in the primary, along with a few other candidates. Fischbach won the primary 58.8 percent to Hughes 22.2 percent (Noel Collis, another candidate, received 15.1 percent of the vote).
Additionally, a contingent of county Republican parties in the district, against the advice of the state Republican party and the CD-7 district-level party, moved to “rescind” Fischbach’s endorsement: Otter Tail, Pennington, and Rousseau. At the time, the Minnesota GOP said individual counties did not have the authority to rescind an endorsement that’s made district-wide.
“Minnesota delegates in the 7th Congressional District put their faith, trust, and votes behind Michelle Fischbach and the MNGOP does as well,” Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan said at the time. “Individual counties or BPOUs do not have the authority to ‘rescind’ an endorsement that they didn’t technically grant in the first place.”
Fischbach joins Congress
“Hardworking men and women from western Minnesota made their voices heard and showed that they will no longer accept Collin Peterson as their representative,” Fischbach said on Facebook on Election Night. “I am grateful for the support and am excited to hit the ground running in Washington to work on behalf of Minnesota.”
When she arrives in Washington for orientation, Fischbach will join a large class of Republican women joining Congress. This is a drastic shift for Republicans, who, in the current Congress represent a very small share of the number of women in office: of the 101 women in the 116th Congress, 88 are Democrats and 13 are Republicans. Republicans have essentially doubled the number of women serving in their delegation, but their numbers will still be about a quarter of the women in the Democratic delegation.
Fischbach will also not be in the majority: House Republicans were able to claim several new seats on Election Day, but Democrats, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, still have a majority.
After a clear loss of more than 13 percentage points, Peterson, who can occasionally be abrasive or sarcastic, simply gave a formal statement of concession.
“I’d like to thank the people of the Seventh District for their support over the years. Serving them in Washington, D.C. has been a great honor, and I respect their decision to move in a different direction. We ran a strong and positive campaign, but with the president winning this district by 30 points again, and the millions in outside money that was spent to attack me, the partisan tilt of this district was just too much to overcome.”
Thirty years ago, Mathaller, the Fischbach supporter from Osakis, said he used to fundraise for Peterson. But he contends that the Democratic party, which he used to identify with, has changed too much for him. He thinks Democrats are too supportive of policies that guarantee easy access to abortions.
“The DFL party in Minnesota kicked me out 25 years ago and that’s about the time they started ignoring Collin,” he said. “I don’t like it happening, I really don’t.”
In 2020, Marthaler says he also voted for Trump.
“Washington politics have changed,” he said.
“And the people of the Seventh District kept up with that change by sending a different representative. And they’re going to be happy with her.”
About time. Career politicians, in both parties, need to go. Please bring in regular folks that have started a business, had to meet payroll, had to hire and fire workers, had to raise a family while working 40-60 hours a week and make their lives work. Enough of folks who have only existed off of our tax dollars (I’m not sold on Fischbach yet). Playing the political system gets you elected but doesn’t help John Q. Public much. Walz is a classic example of a guy who has no idea about “real world” , being a teacher and community activist, the state reflects that too.
Nothing says out of touch like suggesting that teachers have no idea about the real world. what do you think teachers do all week? I assure you, they’re working 40-60 hours a week, including evenings and weekends. Teachers deal with our society on a more granular and honest level than a business owner ever will.
So true about teachers! Interestingly, the term “career politician” is a little misleading. Most people in office had a job before they ran. But mostly, I think it doesn’t do any good to pit one profession against another when it comes to qualifications in running for an elected office. And, term limits would provide fresh ideas in Congress, but we may run out of people willing to open their lives to the level of scrutiny and critique that a campaign involves.
you seem to feel that only people who have run a business have any “real” experience. In the course of my life, I have been a teacher [by far, the hardest job with the worst pay I had], had my own business, been an independent contractor, and worked for others. And I have raised a family. I worked 40-60 hours in all those roles. Running the business was no more stressful than anything else, and certainly no more real.
Sorry Joe, but “bringing in regular folks” are people whose interest is in doing what’s best for All people, not special interest ‘folks’ such as you exampled.
It seems telling that the bulk of the article was about Agricultural and rural issues drive the district, and yet the final statement was that abortion was a deciding factor.
My belief is that the seventh will end up seeing their interests harmed by having a culture warrior member of the minority party as their representative, but the will of the voters is the will of the voters.
I wonder how many abortions actually take place within the district in a given year. They gave up an influential congressman in their dominant industry to someone, who even if she could deliver on any social issue, won’t have nearly the power Peterson had.
Well the guy who is concerned about access to abortion being too easy voted for a candidate for POTUS who has bragged about sexually assaulting women and is a serial adulterer.
Some people are pro life, some are just pro birth. (Pro tip: see if they vote for or against WIC & SNAP benefits).
Will Minnesota ever again have as much influence over agricultural policy as it just lost with Peterson’s defeat?
Happy that Fischbach won, although I am a Democrat. Peterson, he’s in a close race, so elects to whistle blow, “I didn’t vote for DC statehood”, he lost my respect; he was obviously so desperate, he defaulted to race politics, which was unfortunate.
I would rather have a Republican than a Democrat that’s flake.
Yeah, Fischbach is a real progressive on racial equity.
Elections have consequences. Agriculture and agriculture-related industries are still a big deal in the seventh. I’m not a resident of the district, but I hope the voters realize that they’ve traded a conservative Democrat (really, a Democrat in name only) who chairs the House Agriculture Committee for a first-term representative in the minority party whose main asset is her relationship with President Trump. I don’t mean to denigrate her years of outstanding service in the Minnesota Legislature and her time as Lieutenant Governor, but service in the Congress is a different ballgame. Ideology is important, but so is pragmatism that directly supports constituents with more than tickets for Capitol and White House tours.
What is Fischbach’s agenda for the district? Republicans had no platform. It was going to be do whatever Trump asks. Well, your leader is gone and will be focusing on his own challenges. No plan for the pandemic or the rural economy doesn’t cut it.
Now it will be Biden trying to figure out how to restore ag prices and out international markets. Farmers took a big hit from Trump’s tariffs, as did the small towns that serve them. With Petersen as Ag Chair, your districts interests would have been paramount.
So how much ag background does she have? She will have zero influence even if she gets on the House Agriculture Committee – certainly not a done deal. And her one issue – abortion – you got all the justices you need if Roe v. Wade is ever going to get reversed – so she serves no purpose.
She had better step up because rural America is hurting and Peterson sets a high bar against she will need to perform. Count on the DFL to find a younger moderate version of Peterson to run in 2022. As representatives of rural districts which may be suffering for some time, Fischbach and Hagedorn will be vulnerable.
Agriculture is a mainstay o the Minnesota economy. Whatever weakens the Ag industry weakens us all. Collin Peterson was a strong voice for farmers across the state, not only the seventh district. With his loss, who will speak up for family farmers? Ms. Fischbach has no background in, or connection to, Agriculture. She is a lawyer from suburban St. Paul, who has made a career as a culture warrior, in the cause against legal abortion.
They got what they wanted, they’re gonna kill their own economy, and most likely they’re own population, to try to ensure poor people in cities they never visit don’t have sex. Hmm, sounds about right.
I wonder what will happen if Minnesota loses a Congressional seat after the census is finally concluded? If Minnesota has to redistrict with only 7 seats, I certainly hope that both parties will agree not to gerrymander again but to redraw the lines on neutral, nonpolitical criteria that respects every citizen’s vote.
Jon: I lived in Mpls from 1983-2018. I moved back to my home state, WI, live in a primarily farming community N of Menomonie. I am part of a coalition under Pierce County Grass Roots Organizing for Western WI Nonpartisan Voting Districts. We have a website with lots of information if you are interested in learning about the Iowa model and its merits. A brief history: WI turned Republican in the 2010 election and they drew the most gerrymandered districts in the US. Litigation to correct this effort that allows representatives to pick their voters has cost WI taxpayers $4 million since 2010. Back in 1980 Republicans perfected a nonpartisan system that has successfully avoided litigation through four cycles of census and redistricting negotiations. Seems to be a good system and Wisconsin’s constitution would permit the same. I encourage you to get involved if you are concerned about this issue. Somewhere between 65-75% of Wisconsin voters support nonpartisan voting districts as measured by nonbinding referenda. The majority of our counties have now passed these resolutions.
I really don’t understand, either, the thinking of the voters in the seventh. They’ve got a conservative dem who is chairman of the Ag committee, Dem leadership in the House which was unlikely to change, and then elect a minority Repub who might not even get on the Ag committee. Was it just because Trump backed her? I’d really like to see comments from voters in the seventh and what they think they gained, especially as I have relatives in the seventh who voted for Peterson and don’t understand it either.
So the math challenged then?
Yeah. I think the Minnesota farming community has lost a whole lot of influence by voting Collin out of that seat.
Every two years, the day after election, I ask the same questions. “Why do Minnesota Democrats run so badly in out state Minnesota?” “What do they want that we aren’t giving them?” “What do they expect to get from Republicans that they can’t get from us?” In this case, Peterson is an Agriculture Committee in a Democratic administration. He is somebody able and willing to deliver for his district. Fischbach is going to be a first term Congress person in the minority in the House of Representives. Few things are lower in life.
What were the voters thinking?
“Conservative” media and churches,…
so common in rural Minnesota,…
have been systematically poisoning their listeners/members minds against Democrats for decades,…
all of it carefully hidden behind a screen of “protecting the unborn,”…
a screen which prevents their listeners/members from noticing the agenda,…
of those who own those media sources, and finance those churches and political candidates.
Peterson can probably become Secretary of Agriculture if he wants it.
That might not bother me, but I do think it would be a good idea to get some folks under the age of 70 in positions of power in DC.
I’m not familiar with the District–indeed I have seldom entered it. But it strikes me that the sugar beet industry has a product that is unhealthy to eat, is heavily subsidized and protected, is hostile to organized labor, and has a bad environmental record. So, from a broader point of view, weaker representation of this industry may be in the public interest.
As for the trump-worship, isn’t this likely to discourage intelligent people from living or investing in the District?
Gabe Schneider: I was stopped short with your caption of the nice photo leading this article. Specifically, “…having spent close to three decades protecting the crops in Washington.” Grammatically this phrasing implies the crops were in Washington. In fact, that was Peterson’s role. As Ag Comm Chair, he protected big interest ag at the expense of small farmers. Every time the Farm Bill was renewed did we see any progressive changes that helped those of us working to ensure more sustainable farming practices, that all benefit the individual farmer? No, all we saw was continued subsidies that prop up beets, corn, and soy at the expense of our planetary health. There was an editor down Iowa way who won a Pulitzer for his investigative reporting on the lack of judges holding upstream farmers for the costs cities downstream bear for the abysmal way their standard, subsidized practices treat our soil. They said it was not the obligation of farmers to take responsibility to pay “externalized” costs in modern economic parlance. Instead, we have a massive dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. If farmers were using the latest research and demonstrations of how to manage our land better not only would the Gulf water quality improve, but they would save money, spend less time in the field, be exposed to less chemicals that compromise their health, all while either maintaining or improving yields. Thus, with less effort they make greater profits. Why are these improvements not implemented on a broad scale? I throw the blame at the feet of our former Ag Comm Chair and I welcome whoever takes over to be more focused on the future of our planet than maintaining the status quo. Touring with farmers who have adopted these new methods they suggest to neighbors, “Be prepared to have folks you know telling you that you’re crazy. Then just go bank the savings after ignoring them.” These latest methods fix carbon in the soil (huge benefit for reducing climate disruption), reduce fuel use with less passes across the field (ditto previous), and vastly diminish the need for inorganic fertilizer applications. One farmer outside Northfield is able to do his planting (still using GMO seed – the same crop as his neighbor) with a single pass in spring. Meanwhile his neighbor requires seven passes to accomplish the same yield. He told a group of us that his neighbor refers to this as lazy. So that is that state of America today. We trust our government when it gives us subsidies to grow crops in ways that are ruining the ability of our biosphere to sustain the diversity of life we formerly had. I consider Colin Peterson a friend. I knew him when I worked for Gerry Sikorski when I arrived in Twin Cities in 1983. You may recall Sikorski represented the formerly swing sixth district. Gerry worked hard for educating the public about issues like acid rain and other important support for local small businesses. He was defeated by Rod Grams, who went on to become MN Senator. Do you recall a single bit of legislation Grams authored? None, just a yes vote for his party. This is a product of the dumbing down of our education system and their systematic lies projected via talk radio and FOX fake news. As this article clearly shows, these farmers just voted against their common interests since Peterson did more than anyone to support sugar beet subsidies. Why did most of my neighbors out here in Western WI vote for Trump? It is no mystery. They believed their lies. More ink needs to be printed, or keystrokes electronically distributed, that question the validity of our Supreme Court if they tell us corporations have the rights of people in Citizens United and throw out LBJ’s Voting Rights Act of 1964. Those two decisions are part of why the race between democrats and Republicans have been close, when Democrats have a majority of voters. Lies do not fix problems. Pretending climate disruption is controversial as our latest Supreme Ct Justice claimed during her Senate testimony will not help climate change deniers acknowledge the powerful science behind what is destroying our biosphere. If you have a hole in your roof it won’t go away if you just ignore it. Over time the problem gets more expensive to fix. Eventually your home is no longer habitable. That is where with stand with an issue they feel needs more study or they find confusing because they have not studied climate science. They are lying to maintain some hold on 19th century technology and the horrific jobs that came with coal mining, oil drilling, and even the modern fracking. I would never subject my body to what those workers have to endure. None of us have to when there are currently less expensive alternatives.
Makes little matter.
When census redistricting reduces MN to 7 districts we’ll see Fischbach, Emmer, Hagedorn and Stauber fight over which one goes from the declining MN rural population.
Emmer and Stauber are not going anywhere…
Peterson and Democrats are a casualty of their own pseudo-centrism and preference for blurry mediocrity instead of crystal clear affiliation. 7th district voters will get whatever they deserve, but the rest of us are better off with a clearly designated Republican rather than a camouflaged one. The last thing we need is moderate republicans sabotaging Democratic initiatives under the Party’s own banner.
The Democratic Party needs to make a clean break with guys like Peterson. You can predict that liberal candidates may lose in the short term, but your blue-dogs like Peterson don’t guarantee victory, and accommodating them when they “win” drags the Party down.