Judge blocks delay of Minnesota congressional race
A federal judge says the congressional election in Minnesota’s Second District is back on for November 3.
The decision, issued just 25 days before the election, marks yet another unusual twist in the hotly contested race for the suburban Twin Cities seat.
The November matchup between Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Republican challenger Tyler Kistner was already one of the state’s most closely watched congressional contests. But it gained newfound national attention in late September, when the unexpected death of Legal Marijuana Now candidate Adam Charles Weeks upended the race by triggering a little-known state law delaying the vote to next February. Secretary of State Steve Simon said at the time that votes cast for the race would not count in accordance with that law, even though ballots had already been printed and, in some cases, returned to election officials. The seat would remain empty when Congress returned in January, until voters picked a new representative in the 2021 special election.
Craig, the Democratic incumbent, filed a lawsuit to block the delay and keep the vote on the November ballot. On Friday, she celebrated the ruling as an “enormous victory for the people of the Second District.”
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Kistner’s campaign opposed Craig’s move. In a statement, he said he plans to appeal the decision, citing confusion caused by Secretary of State Steve Simon’s public comments that residents of the district need not vote on that race on their ballot because of the delay.
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Kistner also said that the announced postponement led him to cancel “numerous” TV and digital advertising buys and to hold back from sending out voter contact mailings. “Because of the way this has played out, my campaign will be appealing ... to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to make sure that every Minnesotan has an opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choosing,” he said.
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The final outcome could have political implications for the race for the suburban swing district. Craig, a freshman Democrat, is seen as benefiting from a November vote, when more voters are likely to turn out for the presidential election. A delay could have given political newcomer Kistner more time to connect with voters in the district, which includes south metro suburbs and part of rural southeastern Minnesota.
https://www.startribune.com/federal-judge-minn-congressional-race-is-back-on-for-november/572693992/
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