• Incumbent Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson is facing off against former Lt. Gov Michelle Fishbach in Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District.
  • The largely rural district covers almost the entire western edge of the state.
  • The congressional district is one of 30 House districts won by President Donald Trump in 2016 and also represented by a Democrat.
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Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson will face former Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach in the race for Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District.

The candidates

Incumbent Collin Peterson is the House Agriculture Committee Chair, and is the most senior U.S. representative from Minnesota, having held his seat in the House of Representatives since 1991.

He’s also the chairman of the powerful House Agriculture Committee, an extremely influential position on Capitol Hill, and one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, supporting gun rights, for example, to a far greater extent than many of his Democratic colleagues. But his views and his focus on agricultural and rural areas have helped him remain a strong fit for his district and allowed him to be consistently reelected in his Republican-trending district.

Peterson's Republican challenger, Michelle Fischbach, is the former lieutenant governor of Minnesota, serving from 2018 to 2019, as well as the first female president of the Minnesota Senate. Her campaign platform emphasizes supporting the district's farmers, protecting the Second Amendment, and opposing abortion.

The district

Minnesota's 7th Congressional District, which covers almost the entire western edge of the state, is one of 30 congressional districts won by President Donald Trump in 2016 but represented by a Democrat.

The 7th District is the Democratic-controlled district that Trump carried by the greatest margin, winning it by 30 percentage points over Hillary Clinton, in 2016.

It is the largest congressional district in Minnesota, occupying most of the Western part of the state and stretching from the Canadian border down to the southern part of the state. Its largest cities include Fergus Falls, Willmar, Moorhead, and Alexandria.

The money race

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Peterson has raised $1.2 million compared to Fischbach's $1 million. Having spent only $423,000 on this election, Peterson has more than $1 million in cash on hand than his challenger.

While her campaign totals are below that of her incumbent opponent, donations to Fischbach's campaign are setting records. According to her campaign, Fischbach's $1 million raised sets a record as the highest raising Republican candidate in the 7th Congressional District's history.

What some of the experts say

The fight for Minnesota's 7th Congressional District seat is rated a tossup by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics and the Cook Political Report, and tilts Democratic according to Inside Elections.