Five of the 19 House races regarded as toss-ups in the Nov. 6 mid-term elections involve members of the House Agriculture Committee, according to the political site Sabato’s Crystal Ball. The newest addition to the list, with the retirement of Democrat Rick Nolan, is the 8th House District covering the northeastern quadrant of Minnesota.
The announcement by Nolan, 74, makes “the already competitive 8th District even more so, as Republicans look to pick up the increasingly red northeastern Minnesota seat,” said MinnPost. Nolan narrowly won re-election in 2016 at the same time President Trump won the district by 16 percentage points. Republicans were buoyed by the candidacy of Pete Stauber, a former police lieutenant in Duluth while Nolan faced a challenge in the primary from Leah Phifer, a former law enforcement employee, said MinnPost.
Roll Call newspaper changed its rating of the Minnesota race to toss-up following Nolan’s announcement. It had listed the race as leaning Democratic. The open seat adds to the complexity of Democratic hopes of taking control of the House in the fall elections.
According to the Crystal Ball, the other toss-up races that will affect the Agriculture Committee are the open seat held by Democrat Tim Walz, who is running for governor in Minnesota; Democrat Ann Kuster from eastern New Hampshire; Republican Jeff Denham from California’s Central Valley; and Nebraska Republican Don Bacon from the Omaha area.