Minnesota’s U.S. House members raise millions of dollars in campaign cash as primary challenges heat up

WASHINGTON — With the GOP’s control of the U.S. House on the line, an open seat and a vulnerable incumbent, the race for campaign cash is in full swing for Minnesota’s congressional candidates.

The reelection of Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6th District, is not threatened. According to the Federal Election Commission, the only candidate who filed to run against Emmer, Austen Winkleman, raised only $24.10 for his bid.

Yet Emmer was elected House Majority Whip last year and would lose that leadership position if the GOP loses control of the U.S. House in November’s elections. So, like others in GOP leadership jobs, Emmer has raised and spent a lot of political cash.

The latest FEC filings show Emmer raised more than $4.3 million last year, spending a lot of that money to help Republicans who are challenging vulnerable Democrats.

In the last quarter of 2023, Emmer also donated $100,000 to the Minnesota Republican Party and $265,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee, which he used to lead.

The most competitive congressional race this year is expected to play out in the 2nd District, now represented by Democrat Angie Craig, which could help decide which party controls the U.S. House in the fall.

But right now, there are some fierce Republican and Democratic primary races underway.

In the 3rd District, it’s a battle between Democrats to succeed Rep. Dean Phillips, who is running for president and not seeking a fourth term in the House. OB-GYN and state Sen. Kelly Morrison raised nearly $420,000 in the last quarter. She began her campaign on Nov. 9.

“These numbers show the strength of Kelly’s support in Minnesota. Given that she entered this race halfway through the fundraising quarter, this level of immediate enthusiasm is all the more impressive,” said Morrison’s campaign manager, Megan Hondl, in a statement.

The other Democrat in the race, Ron Harris, had raised nearly $94,000 for his bid as of Dec. 31. So, Morrison is outraising Harris by a four-to-one margin.

That may be, at least in part, because — although both candidates are Democrats — their donor bases are different.

About a third of Harris’ contributors last year were small-dollar donors, giving $200 or less to his campaign. Meanwhile, only about one-eighth of Morrison’s campaign cash came from small-dollar donors.

Another candidate, University of Minnesota professor Richard Painter, a Democrat, recently entered the race and also has yet to report any donations.

There will also be a contest among Republicans seeking to take back a district that had been represented by the GOP for decades before Phillips was elected.

But Republicans running for the 3rd District seat who filed their paperwork after Jan. 1, including Quentin Wittrock, have yet to report any donations

‘Beltway’ picks a GOP candidate

The other competitive race in the state is the contest for Craig’s district, which like the 3rd District was once represented by a Republican but flipped to the Democratic column.

As she had in previous elections, Craig is being targeted by the NRCC. Her last race, in 2022,  was one of the most expensive in the nation. The candidates, political parties and special interest groups spent more than $25 million.

According to the FEC, Craig has already raised nearly $3 million for her reelection and began the new year with more than $2.1 million in campaign cash.

She has two GOP opponents, Joe Teirab, a former Marine and former federal prosecutor who lives in Burnsville, and Tayler Rahm, an attorney who also lives in Burnsville.

Teirab raised about $303,000, while Rahm raised about $277,000 as of the end of last year. While more than half of Rahm’s campaign cash came from small donors, Teirab raised nearly $105,000 from political action committees, mostly from the campaigns of dozens of House Republicans, including Emmer, who have decided to get involved in this GOP primary.

“While the East Coast elite ‘Beltway’ may put their checkbooks behind Joe Teirab, Tayler Rahm has the hearts, minds and votes of the grassroot delegates and alternates,” Rahm campaign manager Jill Vujovich-Labbs said. “At the end of the day, their votes are all that matters in the April 27th endorsing convention.”

There’s another heated primary race in the 5th District, where Rep. Ilhan Omar is facing a rematch with fellow Democrat Don Samuels.

Omar has raised $3.2 million, Samuels has raised about $355,000 and a third Democrat in the race, attorney Sarah Gad, has raised $54,360. A fourth Democrat trying to unseat Omar, Timothy Peterson, had $17,468 in campaign cash as of the end of last year.

There is also a Republican running for the 5th District seat, journalist Dalia Al-Aquidi, who raised nearly $93,000.

Meanwhile, University of Minnesota-Duluth professor Jen Schultz, who is trying for a second time to unseat Republican Rep. Pete Stauber, began her campaign last summer and since then has raised more than $306,000. But Stauber ‘s campaign has attracted $1.09 million, nearly half that money from political action committees.

Rep. Brad Finstad, R-1st District, does not have a challenger. Yet he has raised more than $875,000 for his reelection. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-4th District, is also unopposed since her rival, Mike Casey, has dropped out of the race. McCollum, the dean of the Minnesota congressional delegation, raised more than $790,000.

And Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-7th District,  raised about $739,000 to fend off Republican challenger Stephen Boyd, who had less than $25,000 in his campaign coffers as of the end of the year.