Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson, the influential Agriculture Committee chairman and the last remaining opponent of both impeachment articles in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Democratic caucus, will run for reelection this year in a district where President Trump is enormously popular, sources said.
Peterson’s decision to run for another term is good news for Democrats, who probably would be more likely to lose the seat without him.
The veteran lawmaker is one of the top targets of House Republicans this cycle, in part because his rural Minnesota district has been trending more conservative in recent cycles. In 2016, Trump beat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by more than 30 points, 61.8 percent to 31 percent, in Peterson’s district. But Peterson still won his race.
In previous elections, former President Obama had captured 44.1 percent of the vote in 2012 and 47.1 percent in 2008 in Peterson’s district.
Peterson’s political survival — he’s running for his 16th House term, a development first reported by Politico — has demonstrated the power of incumbency. As the district has grown more Republican, he’s been able to stave off GOP opponents and win reelection, touting the Agriculture Committee gavel he held from 2007 to 2011 and currently holds, as well as his record of breaking with his party on key issues.
Peterson, now 75 years old, was one of 34 Democrats to vote against ObamaCare, though he has opposed subsequent GOP efforts to repeal the landmark health care law.
More recently, Peterson was one of only two House Democrats to oppose the article to impeach against Trump for abuse of power. A third, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), also voted “no” on the article charging Trump with obstruction of Congress related to his dealings with Ukraine.
The other Democrat, freshman New Jersey Rep. Jefferson Van Drew, promptly switched parties during a televised Oval Office meeting with Trump, leaving Peterson as the lone Democrat to have opposed both impeachment articles.
With Trump back on the ballot this fall, Republicans see this year as their best chance to oust Peterson. In the 2018 midterms, Republicans came within striking distance; Peterson fended off GOP challenger Dave Hughes by a margin of 52.1 percent to 47.9 percent.
Republicans began salivating last summer when Peterson reported that he had sold his Washington, D.C., condominium for $460,000, a sign that the veteran lawmaker might soon retire. Now that he’s running, Republicans said they still don’t think he’ll need that home in D.C. next year.
“Good thing Collin Peterson already sold his house in D.C. – it’ll make the logistics a heck of lot easier once he loses in November,” said Calvin Moore, a spokesman for the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House GOP leadership. “The Democrats have put socialism on the ballot in 2020 and Collin Peterson will own every bit of it.”
Peterson’s decision came just days after former Vice President Joe Biden consolidated support from more-moderate Democrats and reclaimed his presidential front-runner status with a series of unexpected Super Tuesday victories over liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Centrists like Peterson have argued that they would have a much easier time winning reelection with a moderate like Biden at the top of the ticket compared to Sanders, who calls himself a democratic socialist.