The race for Minnesota’s Second Congressional District is beginning to heat up, with a new poll showing that incumbent Rep. Jason Lewis has a small lead over opponent Angie Craig.
Lewis defeated Craig in a surprise 2016 upset, but now the two will face off once again in what will be a tight congressional rematch.
A poll conducted between August 18-21 by WPA Intelligence, a conservative research firm, shows that the Republican incumbent leads his two-time challenger by just one percentage point. Of the 400 likely voters polled, 46 percent expressed support for Lewis, and 45 percent backed Craig. 9 percent of voters were still undecided.
With the holiday weekend behind them, both campaigns are redoubling their efforts, but have yet to reach an agreement on where and when to hold their first debate.
“The campaign will get into high gear after vacation season and everybody gets back from the lake,” Lewis told 5 Eyewitness News, proposing five debates throughout the district, including one hosted by the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity.
Lewis has been critical of Craig for “appearing at two issue-based forums” on the campaign trail while ignoring his debate invitations.
“Rather than joining Lewis in his quest for an hour-long debate on health care (among other topics) so voters can hear in-depth discussions, Craig is apparently hoping to get away with only having to answer one question where she can remain on the fence, simply pitching ‘affordable and accessible’ language without any clear plans or ideas of how to get there,” Lewis’ campaign stated in a Sept. 1 press release.
That same day, Craig responded with a press release of her own in which she claimed that Lewis was invited to appear with her at an event hosted by Faith in Minnesota as well as a forum at Farmfest.
“It seems like Jason isn’t eager to face voters and explain his stances,” she suggested, revealing that Lewis did finally respond to her campaign’s offer “to hold 5 debates,” though it is still unclear when they are set to occur.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
