WASHINGTON – Rep. Collin Peterson doesn't seem like he's in any hurry to leave Congress.
The defiant 24-year Capitol Hill Democrat has had a perennial target on his back for conservatives — even though Peterson votes against his own party nearly a third of the time. His Seventh Congressional District spans most of western Minnesota, from the Canadian border nearly down to Iowa. Voters there lean more red than blue, which has long fanned Republican hopes that they can persuade voters to dump Peterson for one of their own.
So far, no luck.
Last year, the man who ran against Peterson, state Sen. Torrey Westrom, raised more than $1 million and got help from the national party. Peterson defeated him by nearly 10 points, spending $1.5 million on the race and winning 54 percent of ballots cast.
Peterson's popularity has proved durable for one reason. In this sprawling district that is home to 22,000 square miles of prime farmland and nearly 50,000 farm operators, voters see Peterson as someone who will defend agriculture interests — no matter the politics or the cost to taxpayers.
"We could lose the family farm. … We fight every day to keep that," Peterson said, speaking at a recent Summit on Rural America in Washington, D.C. He said a lot of new lawmakers "have no idea what goes on in rural America, they have no idea what it takes to grow food. We have a challenge trying to educate people."
Democrats have learned to live with Peterson's regular defections. Their bigger worry is that he will eventually retire.
At 70, Peterson is edging closer to the time when he will trade in long travel days to Washington and constant rounds of fundraising for time on his farm near Thief River Falls, and hanging out with his 94-year-old father. But that's for later. Peterson is still eager to protect a legacy that he sees as increasingly embattled.