Money starts pouring into race to replace Rep. Angie Craig
MINNEAPOLIS – The crowded race to replace Rep. Angie Craig is getting its first injection of sizeable outside spending for one of the three leading Democratic candidates vying to hold Minnesota's most competitive House seat.
EMILYs List is releasing the first major ad in the race Tuesday in support of flight attendant and state Rep. Kaela Berg, seeking to highlight her experience as a union leader and working-class Minnesotan. EMILYs List backs pro-choice women candidates in races across the country.
"Kaela Berg has spent her life standing up for working people, not powerful special interests," EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler said in a statement about the ad first shared with the Minnesota Star Tribune. "Whether fighting for better wages as a union leader or delivering results in the state Legislature, she has always put Minnesota families first."
The ad comes just over a month after former Lakeville mayor and state legislator Matt Little overwhelmingly won the DFL endorsement over Berg and state Sen. Matt Klein.
Craig is running for U.S. Senate and will leave her seat at the end of her term.
The ad - running on TV, streaming services and YouTube - is part of a $500,000 campaign from Women Vote, the independent expenditure arm of EMILYs List, in conjunction with several other groups.
"In these turbulent times, Minnesota families can turn to Kaela Berg, a flight attendant who organized her union for livable wages," the narrator of the 30-second ad says. "A mom who worked three jobs to support her family. A state representative who delivers for hard-working Minnesotans."
The Second District, representing the south metro and parts of southern Minnesota, has historically been a swing seat. But after Craig's biggest win in 2024, political observers anticipate a Trump midterm will be an easier year for Democrats, regardless of the three leading Democrats' brand of politics.
Little has carved out the progressive lane in the race alongside Berg, while the more moderate Democrat, Klein, seeks to govern in the same centrist mold as Craig.
Whoever makes it through the Aug. 11 primary will face GOP state Sen. Eric Pratt in November.
The Second District is not the only race in Minnesota that's starting to attract outside money. In the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, millions have already been spent in the race between Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who are vying to replace retiring Sen. Tina Smith.
Craig also released the first television ads of her campaign on Monday.
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This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 8:01 AM.