Republicans failed to recruit a top-tier challenger, so Rep. Collin Peterson, the Democratic leader on the House Agriculture Committee, has a clear path to election to his 14th term in Congress, says the political tipsheet Sabato’s Crystal Ball. A “blue dog,” fiscally conservative Democrat, Peterson represents a rural Republican-leaning district that gave a 10-point margin to the GOP presidential nominee in 2012.
With the race now rated “safe Democratic,” the Crystal Ball says there are only 51 competitive races in the House; Republicans have 207 safe seats and Democrats 177 safe seats. Democrats need to pick up 30 seats to gain control of the House. The Crystal Ball says the more likely result is an 11-seat pickup, based on the small number of toss-up races.
Republicans have targeted Peterson in the past, unsuccessfully. Amanda Lynn Hinson and Dave Hughe are running for the Republican nomination in the Aug. 9 primary election. “Once Peterson retires — he will be 72 later this month — this district should flip to the Republicans. But Peterson has enough local credibility that we now see his race as Safe Democratic,” said the Crystal Ball.
In the Iowa primary election, seventh-term Rep. Steve King defeated Rick Bertrand by a 2-to-1 margin in the House district covering the northwest quadrant of the state. Bertrand said King, a prominent conservative, was ignoring the district in favor of national politics. Also in the primary on Tuesday, former lieutenant governor Patty Judge took 48 percent of the vote in winning a four-way race for the Democratic nomination for the Senate. She will face Judiciary chairman Charles Grassley, who also serves on the Agriculture Committee.