Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig faces former federal prosecutor and first-time candidate Republican Joe Teirab in Minnesota’s most competitive congressional race to represent the Second District.
DFL U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, GOP challenger Joe Teirab face off in competitive Second District race
Political newcomer Teirab wants to deny the incumbent Craig a fourth term.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 5, 2024 at 11:02AM
Craig first won the swing-district seat in the “blue wave” election of 2018 when she defeated Jason Lewis, who beat Craig in a close 2016 race. Before that, Republican John Kline represented the district for 14 years.
The Second District encompasses the Twin Cities’ southern suburbs and runs south, including all of Dakota, Scott and Le Sueur counties.
Before running for Congress, Craig worked in human resources and corporate relations. She’s Minnesota’s first openly gay member of Congress and is married to wife Cheryl and has four adopted sons.
Teirab was born in the Twin Cities and grew up in rural Minnesota. His father immigrated to Minnesota from Sudan. Before he was a federal prosecutor, Teirab worked as assistant county prosecutor and served in the Marines.
Teirab won the August GOP primary after his Republican opponent Tayler Rahm dropped out to take a job with former President Trump’s campaign. Yet, the Second District Republican committee has not endorsed Teirab.
Teirab did get Trump’s backing and House Speaker Mike Johnson visited Minneapolis in August to support him. In October, U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries visited a campaign door-knocking kickoff in West St. Paul to support Craig’s bid for a fourth term.
The Second District is seen as one of the roughly two dozen seats that will decide control of the House. Money has poured into the race, but Craig has a big advantage.
Federal Election Commission reports show Craig raised $7.85 million to Teirab’s $3 million. As of Oct. 16, Craig had about $1.4 million left to spend and Teirab had about $660,000.
During the campaign the candidates sparred over abortion rights, securing the southern border, immigration, the economy and public safety.
Teirab tried to tie Craig to President Biden and the inflation spike that occurred during his presidency. He also criticized Craig for not doing enough to address a surge in asylum seekers and other immigrants coming across the border with Mexico.
Craig emphasized the times she’s bucked her Democratic Party leaders, saying she won more resources for law enforcement and pushed the Biden administration to address the immigration issues. She also criticized Teirab’s position on abortion. He said he’s personally opposed to abortion with the exception of rape, incest and concern for the life of the mother, and said the matter should be left up to individual states to regulate.
A third-party candidate, Thomas Bowman, suspended his campaign and endorsed Teirab. Bowman will still be on the ballot because he dropped out after the deadline to remove his name.
Incumbents in two races face challengers who drew headlines. One tossed a tarantula at a tenant and another’s background includes mixed martial arts and a criminal record.
