Angie Craig and Joe Teirab facing off in competitive race for Minnesota's 2nd District
MINNEAPOLIS — Eyes are on the competitive race for Congress in Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District.
The district is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. It includes all of Scott, Dakota and Le Sueur counties. It's a south suburban district with 40% rural farmland.
Since 2000, the district has voter for the winner in every presidential election.
Democratic Rep. Angie Craig is running against Republican challenger Joe Teirab in the November election.
Teirab declined an interview for Talking Points but spoke with Esme Murphy earlier this month on WCCO Sunday Morning at 10:30 a.m.
Teirab is a Marine Corps veteran and a former federal and county prosecutor. Teirab has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Among the key issues: inflation, abortion rights, the southern border and farm policies.
Teirab is a strong opponent of abortion rights. He says abortion should only occur in the instances of rape, incest and to save the life of the mother. He said his personal story with Murphy.
"When my mom was pregnant with me, it was unplanned and she actually got plugged into what's called a 'pregnancy resource center,'" Teirab said. "Just encouraged my mom, loved my mom and encouraged her to have me. So I am here to this day because of that and so I want to do what we can to make sure that we're supporting women who are facing these tough circumstances."
Craig credits her strong abortion rights positions as helping her clinch her 2022 win and says it's still an issue voters in her district are concerned with.
"What I'm saying and what others are saying in my district is that every woman should be free to make her own choice in consultation with her family and her faith and her doctor. That's what freedom is about, and that's what I'm going to make sure we do is I'm going to keep fighting until we restore (Roe v. Wade) across this country," said Craig.
Republican analyst Amy Koch agrees abortion rights were the elephant in the room during the last election but says that's not the key issue for voters today.
"Inflation is back on the ballot. Public safety is back on the ballot. The things that everyone thought was going to play last time are really going to play more now," said Koch.
Teirab did not live in the 2nd Congressional District until late 2023 when he moved from Minnetonka to Burnsville. While it is not a legal requirement for a U.S. House Representative to live in their District, Craig is accusing him of being a carpetbagger.
But will this hurt his effort to connect with voters in the 2nd District? Democratic analyst Abou Amara says voters will be able to see that contrast between Teirab and Craig, who has lived there the entire time.
"Ultimately, you're fighting for the people of a particular part of the state, right? You're fighting for the 2nd Congressional District, and voters want to know you didn't just move here to represent us, but you've lived here for a while, you've done things in the community. You're ingrained with the voters of the 2nd Congressional District," said Amara.