Progressive Matt Little wins Democratic primary to replace Rep. Angie Craig

Briana Bierschbach and Sydney Kashiwagi, Star Tribune on Aug 11, 2026

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Matt Little, a former mayor of Lakeville and former state senator, emerged as the winner of the three-way Democratic primary in the Second District to replace Rep. Angie Craig.

By electing Little, Democrats in the district sent a powerful message that they’re moving in a more progressive direction after seven years of Craig’s leadership as a moderate Democrat in Congress.

Little will now face Republican state Sen. Eric Pratt in November in what’s historically been a swing district.

Craig’s decision to run for the U.S. Senate created a crowded primary for her seat. Little had been locked in a battle with fellow progressive Democrat state Rep. Kaela Berg and state Sen. Matt Klein, a moderate Democrat who believed his brand of centrist politics made him the best equipped to hold the seat in November.

The contest was one of several notable primaries Tuesday that stretched from Minneapolis and its suburbs to northern Minnesota, with voters in both parties choosing nominees for Congress and the Legislature as well as other other statewide offices.

On the campaign trail in the Second District, Little mixed a brash, in-your-face style of politics with personal stories about his mother’s struggle with chronic illness and his wife’s story as an Asian American immigrant. It connected him to voters who appeared energized by health care and immigration reform.

His overwhelming victory at the Second District DFL convention buoyed him to front-runner status in the race. He led in recent polling and won the backing of big-name progressives like Rep. Pramila Jayapal and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC.

The closing weeks of the primary campaign had been dominated by an influx of outside spending for all candidates, but most significantly to Klein, who benefited from millions from 314 Action, a political action committee that supports Democratic doctors and scientists.

The last-minute spending indicated 314 Action’s donors may have been worried that one of the progressive Democrats could face an uphill climb against Pratt, given the district includes a mix of suburbs, exurbs and rural farmland.

Debates around immigration, Medicare for All and the conflict in Gaza had dominated the race and served as litmus tests for the candidates.

Little and Berg were strong supporters of Medicare for All and called the conflict in Gaza a genocide, both of which Klein disagreed with.

Each of the candidates took firm stands on President Donald Trump’s immigration actions, especially after Operation Metro Surge. They all said they would not have voted for the Laken Riley Act, a bill that allows law enforcement to detain and possibly deport undocumented immigrants arrested for nonviolent crimes. Craig supported that bill in 2025, and it became a vulnerability in the U.S. Senate race.

Pratt, the Republican nominee, cast himself as the pragmatic choice in the matchup against Little.

“This race is not about who can create the most noise,” Pratt said in a statement Tuesday night. “It is about who can make life more affordable, protect Minnesota families and bring accountability back to government. I have spent my career solving problems and delivering results, and that is exactly what I will do in Congress.”

In northeastern Minnesota, Trina Swanson easily defeated Luke Gulbranson and John Munter to win the DFL nomination in the Eighth Congressional District, a sprawling seat that includes Duluth, the Iron Range, the Arrowhead and much of north-central Minnesota.

Swanson, a former federal immigration official and immigration attorney, entered the primary with the DFL endorsement. She defeated Gulbranson, an Eveleth native, small-business owner and reality television personality who sought to turn his higher public profile into political momentum.

Swanson now faces Republican Rep. Pete Stauber in November in a district that was once a Democratic stronghold but has shifted sharply toward Republicans in recent years.

Elsewhere on the ballot, former Republican state Sen. Scott Jensen, the GOP’s 2022 nominee for governor, defeated Nate George in the Republican primary for state auditor. George had easily won the party’s endorsement over Jensen at the GOP convention in May, but Jensen’s greater name recognition among Republican voters helped him reverse that result in Tuesday’s primary.

Jensen will face DFL-endorsed candidate and Duluth City Council president Zach Filipovich in November.

The Auditor’s race is an open contest this year after Democrat Julie Blaha declined to run for reelection. The office audits local government financial statements including cities, townships, counties and school boards.

In the Sixth Congressional District, Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer easily turned aside lesser-known primary challengers as he seeks another term in the heavily Republican district.

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