Minnesota's 2nd District Primary

Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District is an open-seat race after Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) opted to run for U.S. Senate rather than seek a fifth House term. The district includes the southern Twin Cities suburbs and communities such as Burnsville, Eagan and Lakeville. The Cook Political Report gives the district a D+3 Partisan Voting Index.

Several Democrats are competing in the Aug. 11 Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary: Abdi Abdulle, Kaela Berg, Matt Klein, Matt Little, Hugh McTavish and Christopher Mosel. Eric Pratt is the only Republican candidate, meaning he will advance to the Nov. 3 general election. Minnesota's certified candidate list confirms all seven candidates.

Minnesota uses a partisan primary system in which voters select candidates from one party's ballot, with the primary winners advancing to the general election. The 2026 primary is Aug. 11 and the general election is Nov. 3.

The Candidates

Democratic Primary

Matt Little is a former Lakeville mayor and former Minnesota state senator who now practices law. He won the 2nd Congressional District DFL endorsement on the first ballot in May with 63% of delegate votes, ahead of Kaela Berg and Matt Klein.

Little has collected endorsements from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, MoveOn, and National Nurses United, and his campaign has emphasized climate action, PFAS remediation, and bipartisan pragmatism; he points to more than 60 bipartisan bills he co-authored during his time in the state Senate.

Kaela Berg is a Minnesota state representative for District 55B, a seat she has held since 2021. A 30-year flight attendant and former union leader with the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), Berg has drawn national press coverage as a working-class candidate who centers her campaign on labor rights and fighting corporate power. She finished second to Little in the DFL precinct caucus straw poll and has earned endorsements from Her Bold Move and the AFA-CWA. Outside groups have rallied behind her more than any other candidate in the race.

Matt Klein is a Minnesota state senator representing District 53, covering Mendota Heights, a seat he has held since 2023. Trained as a physician at Mayo Medical School, Klein chairs the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee. His campaign attracted attention in April 2026 when Kalshi, the prediction market platform, suspended and fined him for wagering on his own race, an incident for which Klein publicly apologized.

Abdi Abdulle, also known as Abdi, is an educator who describes his candidacy as a "cultural bridge" effort focused on diverse communities. He is running without large-donor funding.

Hugh McTavish is a biochemist, patent attorney and businessman whose campaign promotes a proposal he calls "Jury Democracy." He is largely self-financing his campaign. Christopher Mosel also qualified for the DFL primary ballot.

Republican

Eric Pratt is the sole Republican in the race and has secured the GOP party endorsement. A state senator representing District 54 from Prior Lake since 2013, Pratt began his public career on the Prior Lake-Savage School Board before winning his first Senate seat in 2012. He holds an MBA in Finance from the University of St. Thomas and previously worked in financial services risk management. In the state Senate, Pratt has served on the Capital Investment Committee and previously chaired the Jobs and Economic Growth Committee. He campaigns on lowering costs, strengthening public safety, and supporting small businesses.

The Money Behind the Race

Matt Klein leads the field in candidate fundraising, while outside groups have concentrated much of their spending on Kaela Berg and Matt Little.

Klein reported $1,215,285 in total receipts through July 22, according to the Federal Election Commission. His campaign spent $926,534 and had $288,752 in cash on hand. Nearly $1.1 million of Klein's receipts came from individual contributions, while other political committees contributed $97,250.

Matt Little reported $923,277 in receipts through July 22, including $718,907 from individuals and $37,000 from other political committees. Little also loaned his campaign $155,000. His campaign spent $796,236, had $127,543 in cash on hand and reported $131,000 in outstanding debt.

Eric Pratt (R-MN) reported $511,213 in receipts through July 22. His campaign spent $256,841, had $254,373 in cash on hand and reported $105,000 in debt.

Kaela Berg reported $390,965 in receipts through July 22. Her campaign spent $343,173 and had $47,792 in cash on hand. Berg reported $270,312 in individual contributions and $110,567 from other political committees.

Hugh McTavish reported $188,258 in receipts through July 22, with most of that money coming from the candidate himself. McTavish loaned his campaign $181,318, while individual donors contributed $6,935. His campaign spent $180,979, had $7,279 in cash on hand and owed McTavish $181,318.

Abdi Abdulle has an active FEC-authorized committee, but the commission does not currently display a 2025-26 financial summary. A comparable federal campaign finance summary for Christopher Mosel was not available at the time of review.

Outside groups have also invested heavily in the Democratic primary, particularly on behalf of Berg.

Elect Democratic Women announced a $100,000 independent expenditure supporting Berg, including advertising on streaming platforms and Minneapolis broadcast television. FEC-derived expenditure records list approximately $99,999 in spending by the group.

Women Vote, the independent expenditure arm of EMILYs List, also launched advertising supporting Berg. The group's June campaign was part of a broader effort of more than $500,000 involving Women Vote, Elect Democratic Women and several labor organizations backing Berg. The original FEC data used for this article recorded approximately $84,272 in Women Vote spending supporting her.

National Nurses United for Patient Protection has spent in support of Little. FEC-derived independent expenditure data shows at least $45,991 in spending by the group supporting him by June 22, with later filings accounting for the higher total reported in the original data.

Taken together, the outside spending demonstrates that Berg has attracted substantial support from women's political organizations and organized labor, while Little has benefited from independent spending by National Nurses United.

Ratings vs. Odds

The major election forecasters favor Democrats in Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District, though they stop short of calling the open seat safely Democratic.

The Cook Political Report rates the race Likely Democratic and gives the district a D+3 Partisan Voting Index. Inside Elections also rates the race Likely Democratic. Sabato's Crystal Ball places the district in the same Likely Democratic category.

Prediction markets give Democrats an even larger advantage. As of Aug. 3, Kalshi traders gave the Democratic nominee a 95% probability of winning the Nov. 3 general election, compared with 5% for the Republican. The market had recorded $4,363 in trading volume.

The forecasts and prediction market point in the same direction, but differ on the degree of Democratic advantage. The major forecasters consider the district competitive enough to remain below their safest Democratic category, while Kalshi traders priced a Republican victory as a significant long shot.

---

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article