by Scott McClallen
For the first time since the 1990s, Minnesota’s Seventh Congressional District will have a new representative.
Republican Michelle Fischbach defeated Democratic incumbent Rep. Collin Peterson.
The Associated Press called the race just after 12:40 a.m.
Fischbach garnered 53.6%, or 172,690 votes over Peterson’s 40%, or nearly 129,000 votes, with 92% of precincts reporting.
Peterson campaigned on his ability to work across the aisle, having represented the mostly rural and Republican-leaning Seventh Congressional District for three decades.
President Donald Trump won the district in 2016 with more than 61% of the vote.
One of the founding members of the centrist Blue Dog Democrats, Peterson is pro-life, pro-gun, and backs the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline.
He voted against Obamacare and against impeaching Trump last December.
Fischbach was the first woman in Minnesota history to serve as president of the Minnesota Senate.
She was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1996 and served until 2018.
Fischbach aligns closely with Trump, who endorsed her this year, and has accused Peterson of being a “Pelosi-voting Democrat” who has spent 30 years pretending to be a conservative.
She’s pro-life and pro-gun and supports more robust border security measures.
Peterson won the Democratic primary in August with 75.6%, or 26,925 votes, while Fischbach won the Republican ticket with 58.8% or 26,359 votes.
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Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square. A graduate of Hillsdale College, his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Pepsi.
Photo “Michelle Fischbach” by David Oakes, Minnesota Senate photographer. CC BY-SA 4.0.
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