One of the nation's toughest congressional races seemed set last weekend when Minnesota Republicans endorsed former lieutenant governor Michelle Fischbach to challenge longtime U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, one of a diminishing breed of rural House Democrats.
But a bitter convention fight spanning eight rounds of voting has called into question GOP unity in the rural western Minnesota Seventh Congressional District, which Peterson has represented in Congress since 1991. The voting was preceded by allegations of campaign finance violations and harassment, leading to a restraining order against a Fischbach press aide who has since left the campaign.
Peterson, an influential Agriculture Committee chairman, has faced increasingly aggressive GOP challenges in recent elections, holding on in 2016 even as President Donald Trump carried the district by 30 points. His challenger in the past two elections was Air Force veteran Dave Hughes, who could again be vying to take on Peterson in the state's Aug. 11 primary despite losing the party endorsement to Fischbach.
Hughes said in an e-mail message that he is not ready to say if he will run in the primary, citing "personal and professional responsibilities." Another GOP contender, Albany physician Noel Collis, said after the convention that he will still run in the primary, assuring a contested election.
Whether or not Hughes stays in the race, he remains a factor after pressing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing the Fischbach campaign of violating campaign finance laws by allegedly coordinating with political action committees affiliated with groups that oppose abortion that are directed by her family members.
Fischbach's mother, Darla St. Martin, is co-executive director of National Right to Life. Fischbach's husband, Scott Fischbach, is the executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life. Both groups endorsed her on consecutive days in January and made identical independent expenditures of $11,698.71 weeks later.
Fischbach's campaign described the FEC complaint as a "politically motivated stunt" and "gutter politics meant to divide the party" before the weekend's conventions. Fischbach campaign manager David FitzSimmons said this week that the campaign would seek to have the complaint dismissed.
Days before the weekend's conventions, Hughes also levied allegations against Fischbach's press secretary, Sam Winter, accusing him of bombarding him and his family with hundreds of phone calls during the endorsement fight. According to Hughes, Winter called him more than 300 times from April 4 to 27, including 60 times on a single day. Hughes described the calls as "coordinated attacks" timed to disrupt virtual campaign speeches.
