DCCC goes on offense, running health care ads in the metro

This story and headline have been updated to reflect the ads’ broader reach than just the Second Congressional District. 

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig is getting some national help in her first reelection. Minnesota is among the states where the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced more than $1 million in TV and digital ad buys Monday to support candidates in swing districts. 

The ads are an attack on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has declined to take up a bill that House Democrats say would lower drug costs. 

Craig, a first term Democrat, is among the more vulnerable members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation. The Second Congressional District, which narrowly supported President Donald Trump in 2016, encompasses much of the south Twin Cities metro but also more rural and exurban areas in Scott, Dakota, Goodhue and Wabasha counties. It also contains part of northern and eastern Rice County. 

Craig faces a number of potential challengers, who are all vying for the GOP endorsement. They are former Minnesota state legislator Regina Barr, former Michigan state legislator Rick Olson; former U.S. Marine Corps officer Tyler Kistner; Erika Cashin, an Air Force veteran and Comcast executive; and self-employed businessman Kerry Zeiler.

The ads will also touch another competitive race in southern Minnesota’s First Congressional District, which includes parts of the the Twin Cities metro TV market. Democrats are trying to take out Republican Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who is in a rematch with Democrat Dan Feehan, a veteran and former school teacher. Hagedorn, who voted against the Democrats’ drug proposal, is one of the DCCC’s top targets.