Angie Craig's exit tests whether Minnesota's Second District is ready to move left

MINNEAPOLIS — Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a leading progressive voice in Congress, was recently standing in a front yard in a quiet Mendota Heights neighborhood urging dozens of Democrats to vote for Matt Little.

The former Lakeville mayor and state senator is their chance “to get a different kind of Congress,” she said.

Little has emerged as the apparent frontrunner in a three-way Democratic primary to replace Rep. Angie Craig in the Second District, and handily won the DFL endorsement this summer. But he’ll need to overcome challenges by fellow state Rep. Kaela Berg and state Sen. Matt Klein to reach November’s ballot.

Craig’s decision to run for U.S. Senate created an open contest for her seat, and the race has become emblematic of the larger fight over the direction of the Democratic Party. Little and Berg are running from the party’s left flank, while Klein is following in Craig’s moderate footsteps.

Though Craig handily won reelection in 2024, the seat — representing the south Twin Cities metro and parts of southern Minnesota — has long been seen as one of the most purple districts in the state. The Aug. 11 primary is expected to test how well more progressive candidates play outside of their home base, the Twin Cities urban core and first-ring suburbs.

“There’s not a Zohran Mamdani everywhere, we’re not gonna get one for every state,” said Ainy Saeed of Apple Valley, speaking of the democratic socialist mayor of New York City. “Matt Little seems like our Zohran Mamdani.”

Little has made “Medicare for All” and a ban on corporate contributions pillars of his campaign, and his brash style of politics and personal stories have connected him to voters in the Second District at a time when they appear energized by healthcare and immigration reform.

“People are pissed, and I think they’re looking for someone that’s angry, too. And I’m angry,” Little said in an interview. “A lot of my politics is personal.”

He speaks often about his mother’s struggle with chronic illness and high health care costs and his wife Coco’s story of growing up in the United States as an Asian immigrant who kept her U.S. passport nearby during Operation Metro Surge.

Asked if he thinks the Second District is ready for a change, Little replied: “We’re about to find out.”

Little and Berg, a flight attendant, are sharing the progressive lane in the race. But Berg is leaning into her working-class experience and betting her story as a union member will resonate with voters.

“I’m not here to argue about who’s more progressive, who belongs in a lane,” Berg said on the sidelines of a campaign rally in South St. Paul. “I’m here to fight for our hardworking families, for people who are struggling, for people that are hurting, for people that are doing everything right and falling behind.”

At the rally, Berg touted her union roots and highlighted key stories she often tells about her life: She lived without health insurance during the pandemic because she did not qualify through her employer, and she’s also had to cut her prescriptions in half because she could not afford refills.

“The people we’re talking to at the doors are ready for change. They are ready for a fighter. They are ready to be inspired,” Berg said. “They do not want another doctor. They do not want another lawyer.” (Little is a lawyer, Klein is a doctor.)

“They want a working-class person in the halls of power, so that we can disrupt the systems that are meant to keep us down,” Berg continued. “I am that person.”

Nina Resler-Myklebust, of Prior Lake, was initially supporting Little, but Berg’s personal story drew her in.

“That’s such a sticking point to me to have someone who is actually working class, who is out there working two jobs, doing what so many Americans have to do just to survive,” Resler-Myklebust said at Berg’s rally. “She’s out there living that life.”

Klein thinks his moderate approach is the battle-tested formula to winning the Second District, which includes a mix of suburbs, exurbs and rural farmland.

Driving to a farm in Le Center, Klein is taking not only the same political approach as Craig but the same kind of vehicle — a black Jeep — that Craig often features in her campaign ads.

“She likes Jeeps and I likes Jeeps. It’s just a coincidence,” Klein insists.

Klein is focused on visiting farms and the district’s rural areas and hopes this outreach will pull him ahead. So far, he’s seen little evidence his two Democratic opponents have been courting voters in the rural parts of the district.

Klein arrived at Oak Farms to meet with Andy Oak for a farm tour in late July. The second-generation corn and soybean farmer said no politician has ever met with him.

Oak voted for Republicans throughout Craig’s four terms in Congress and voted for Donald Trump in three straight elections. But he considers himself an independent who’s open to backing a Democrat this year, so long as they are not progressive, he said.

Oak is still undecided on whether he’ll back Klein, but he’s “very impressed” by him, he said.

“At least he made an attempt to try to talk to farmers,” Oak added. “He was trying.”

Klein is banking on that rural outreach and hopes to appeal to independent voters as Little and Berg fight for voters on the left.

“If you really want to represent this district, if you want to be not just elected by them, but stay elected, and then represent them authentically in Washington, D.C., you’ve got to be able to speak to that Trump voter that we just spoke to this morning,” Klein said.

National Democrats feel confident any of the three Democrats who emerge out of the primary can hold the seat in a Trump midterm year on the heels of Craig’s biggest victory in 2024. Still, national Republicans think they have an opportunity to go on offense in the district.

Whoever wins the Democratic primary will face Republican state Sen. Eric Pratt, who has no primary opponent. Pratt describes himself as a “conservative Republican that talks in a very moderate tone,” who sees winning “soft Democrats” and independents and turning out Republicans as the key to winning the district.

“I personally don’t think this is a progressive district,” Pratt said at the Scott County Fair in between bites of a pork burger.

Little and Berg, meanwhile, have been fighting over which candidate is more aligned with Medicare for All, which has become a progressive litmus test.

Little touts his support from Jayapal, who’s carried Medicare for All legislation in Congress. Berg says she’s been a supporter of Minnesota’s version of Medicare for All via state legislation.

Klein said he supports universal health care but is not sold on Medicare for All.

“I talk to a lot of people who aren’t all that happy with their Medicare,” Klein said. “They think it’s expensive. They don’t always get the chance to see the physician they see. I have a lot of people who tell me that it’s not a satisfactory product for them.”

Though Little may be be the frontrunner in the race, recent polling indicates there are many undecided voters the candidates need to sway.

Laurie Boyd is of those voters. The Rosemount resident said after a parade in her city that she plans to back a Democrat in the race but is only just tuning in.

“I realize the primary is coming up pretty quickly,” Boyd said. “We just haven’t gotten into the details of anybody yet.”